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 25

Published at 9th of August 2022 07:04:21 AM

“He-Hey, everyone, good morning,” I said. “I'm sorry I'm late.”

It was morning the next day.

I had an early breakfast like usual at the inn then headed to the carriage stop at the Central District.

The four people I was meeting up with, Selena, Porta, Nedley, and Salkatz, had already arrived and it seems I was the last.

It's awkward because the day was just beginning.

Was it really so bad to have breakfast like my usual routine?

“Go-Good morning, Mr. Gardenant!” Porta cried, excited.

“Good… mo-morning…” Nedley said, tense.

Perhaps Salkatz was too nervous, he just gave a slight bow. He seemed to be that kind of kid, so I lodge the information in my mind.

This old man's got plenty of experience with kids.

“Well then, let's go,” Selena said. “Everyone, get in the carriage.”

“Yeah, let's go,” I said.

We all climb into the carriage prepared in advance.

When I was still making round trips between Bidden Village and the Knights of Revelio, I used a carriage, but it seems this time it was prepared by the Adventurer's Guild.

Generally speaking, dungeons were not within easy reach of the city so it seems that the Guild usually pays for these training dispatches and requests.

As I thought, the Knights and the Adventurer's Guild both have financial power.

It's unthinkable treatment back at Bidden Village, where I used to live.

After everyone was confirmed on board, we signal our coachman, Salkatz, and the carriage begins to smoothly move over the cobblestones.

“Heh,” I muttered. “The Adventurer himself is the coachman too, huh?”

“Adventurers often travel long distances,” Selena said, picking up on it. “We know at least basic horse handling, see?”

Well, it's not possible to get around the world with quests only within the city limits. Would it be a problem if you can't handle horses while on an expedition?

“Are we heading to Azalamia Forest in this carriage?” I asked.

“Yes,” Selena replied. “You can't head inside the forest via horse-drawn carriage, so we'll leave it after we reach the area. From there, we'll walk to the dungeon.”

She answered all my follow-up questions, too.

""

As expected, Selena is used to it. Perhaps this isn't the first time she's gone on newcomer training.

Then, I suddenly found myself wondering:

Do I really need to be here? Am I really necessary?

No, I was wondering that from the start. To begin with, even if it was only Selena by herself, she could handle 3 newcomers.

It's quite a mystery, why I was recommended to the Guild but even if I had earned the endorsement myself, I was wondering why they bothered to have the two of us as chaperons.

“By the way… I was wondering if there's a rule that there had to be multiple chaperons for this kind of training?” I decided to ask.

Selena seemed a little hesitant to answer.

After a moment of thinking it over—she answered in a voice just loud enough for me to hear:

“… According to the rules, so long as there are 2 Platinum Ranks or 1 Ocean Rank or higher, it's fine.”

“Hmm. I can't see why you need me then…” I said.

In the end, they didn't really need to bring me on, did they?

We continue the conversation as the wheels rattle and roll over the stone pavement.

“Didn't you hear, Master?” Selena asked. “Recently, the movements of monsters have been a little strange.”

“… I haven't heard that,” I said. “What's the matter?”

I wonder if such a problem is the kind of business you get Adventurers and Knights to head out for. Don't pull out a boring old man like myself.

“There have been a lot of large species sightings where they shouldn't normally be,” Selena said. “The Guild has dispatched investigators but they haven't found a cause just yet.”

“Well… that's a cause for panic, isn't it?” I said.

Isn't that dangerous?

I'm not familiar with the ecology of monsters and wildlife but I know I have some knowledge, after living in the countryside for so long.

Animals, including humans and monsters, have defined living areas.

In short, territory.

It's not a concrete line like a border but basically, where they live doesn't change unless there's something big going on.

Since it doesn't fluctuate, you can define their distribution as their “habitats”.

That they're migrating from them means something is wrong with their land. Or there's something up with a particular individual or herd.

It's normal to conclude that.

But, even the Adventurer's Guild hasn't figured out why just yet, too.

Hmmm, that's disturbing. I hope nothing bad happens.

“Hence, we're also training newcomers like this to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, and we're allocating more personnel than usual,” Selena continued. “Since all this has happened, it's only natural we'll have a shortage of high-ranked adventurers, so I thought you could help bolster our numbers.”

“I see…” I said. “I understand now, thank you.”

I can understand the situation but not why they chose me, specifically.

If this is the case, shouldn't they be collaborating with the Knights of Revelio or the Magic Division?

This old man had to wonder.

“I wonder if Alexia…” I muttered. “I wonder if the knights know about this.”

If there were disturbing reports of unusual monster migration, the state will have to focus on them over everything else. In this case, the news should have been passed on to the Knights and the Magic Division.

“I think we've already reported it,” Selena said. “Citrus should already know…”

“Hmm…”

Well, if Alexia knows, then it shouldn't be a problem.

She didn't tell me, but that may be because I didn't count as personnel under her direct control. I'm just an instructor, not a vanguard.

I don't even want to fight. I'm sorry to be a burden on everyone else.

The carriage leaves the capital, regularly making rattling noises.

Baltrain could be called a “fortress city”, surrounded by high walls.

It's impossible to eradicate monsters completely so the counter-measure is to surround cities with large walls like this. If it's a capital city, the scale would be different. In a rural village, these walls would be fences.

If I step outside the walls, the view isn't so different from Bidden Village.

Only the size of human activity was different, and when you compared the outside of the walls, they're quite similar.

The carriage goes on a road trampled flat by passersby, quite different from the cobblestones of the capital.

Although it was designated as national land, the areas safe for human habitation haven't exploded unexpectedly.

Of course, the humans in question are making efforts to that end but not everyone can fight.

Claiming territory is not the same as keeping it under control. In that sense, the Adventurer's Guild manages Azalamia forest but it's completely wild.

Once that security was guaranteed, the area becomes a village, a city, or a state.

And there's some irony that some people like me can earn a living because these territories are still being developed.

“A world at peace is the best, after all,” I said.

“I think it would be great to travel the world without fear of danger, right?” Selena chimes in.

Until we arrived at Azalamia forest, we had a very peaceful time.

Chapter end