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 34

Published at 9th of August 2022 07:04:05 AM

34 - The Old Man From The Countryside Stops By A Blacksmith

There are always a certain number of people at the Knights of Revelio's training grounds, whatever time of day.

There were no clear training schedules from this hour to that hour, it was a place where each Knight was expected to count on their schedule and motivation.

Even so, the closer you get to night, the fewer people will be there. The Knights trained early in the morning and early in the evening.

I don't have a tight schedule for my instruction, so I don't have many hours where I need to show up. I've roughly decided it would be about from morning to early afternoon.

I think Alexia said that the morning trainees increased after I came along?

Everyone is serious and sincere because they're all knights. As for their amount of talent, if someone keeps swinging seriously, of course, their swordsmanship will improve.

As long as I'm a teacher, I'm happy to teach them.

Speaking of which, I oversee the knight's muscles and sword arms, give advice, and get into mock battles, so I'm doing something like swordsmanship instruction.

This isn't a dojo, so I don't gather everyone and run them through repetition drills.

Although their swords were not for ill-intentioned violence, they're wholeheartedly pursuing strength, so it's unavoidable that my instruction would trend towards actual battle as with the mock battles.

Well, it's fresh to me.

They've listened to me intently and I haven't seen any major problems so far.

“Alright!” Kuruni said. “Master, let's go!”

“Right, right, after we change clothes, alright?” I said.

We've just finished today's training regime, Kuruni is once again sweating as she talks to me.

She's always sweating, isn't she? It's good that she's so energetic.

As we discussed this morning, I'm planning to visit the blacksmith to who Kuruni is indebted, after today's training.

Originally, I didn't expect that much, but when I learned the owner was Valder, my expectations grow.

“Master, may I join you?” Alexia asked.

“Alexia… no, yeah, there's no reason you can't, “I said.

And just now, also sweating like the rest of the Knights, Alexia joins the conversation.

No, I don't mind her coming along, but really: does she even need to tag along? I don't think so. I don't bother to say it, though.

“When it comes to choosing a sword for you, Master,” Alexia said, “we should naturally seek out the finest sword, so we must also test the skill of the blacksmith.”

“I know, I know,” I said. “Calm down. Okay?”

""

Whoa, Alexia's strict side came out.

Let's calm her down at once.

Alexia has always been using the sword I gifted her.

She stubbornly refuses to pick a new sword, though there may be many better ones. It's not that she's uninterested in searching, but as the head of the Knight Order, it would be meddlesome of me to expect her to upgrade to a sword of better quality and appearance.

I would like Alexia to take this opportunity to replace her sword.

There's a high possibility that the sword will break.

“Then, let's meet in front of Headquarters after we change clothes,” I said.

“Understood,” Alexia said.

“Roger, dodger!” Kuruni said.

With that in mind, I, Kuruni, and Alexia head over to the blacksmith Kuruni recommended. Even though I'm just going to browse the selection of swords at most, they still look so eager.

I guess I'll have to get used to the odd gazes. Come on, stop.

“Sorry to have made you wait,” Alexia said.

“Sorry to keep you!” Kuruni said.

Inevitably, between men and women, changing clothes and other necessary things are faster for men.

While I was waiting alone in front of the Knight Order's Headquarters, Alexia and Kuruni arrived after a while in fresh clothes.

Kuruni looks like she's still focusing on ease-of-movement, Alexia doesn't seem to be putting on anything too eye-catching but I can still see her body line.

Isn't it embarrassing to catch people's attention without even trying? Well, if it's okay by her, I won't say anything.

Kuruni is armed with what you'd call a “short sword”, which has a slightly shorter blade length than my or Alexia's swords. I'm sure she's getting it sharpened.

It looks great on the petite Kuruni.

“Let's go,” I said. “I'll leave the directions to you.”

“Okay!” Kuruni said. “Valder's place is in the Central District.”

Now that we're together, we went to investigate that blacksmith.

However, I don't know where it is so I left Kuruni to be our guide.

“Are you still going to use a longsword, Master?” Alexia asked as we walked.

“Yeah, that's the plan,” I said.

I've gotten used to the length and weight of a longsword, so I'm not thinking about switching to another type.

It's a painful matter to try to adapt to a new weapon at my age.

The lack of raw strength was highlighted in my battle against Xeno Glaive, but I'm in no shape to be fighting those kinds of monsters in the first place. That was completely irregular.

Hopefully, there will be no future situation where this old man isn't thrown into a gambling den to bet his life. Well, if I'm in the position of an instructor to the Knights, it won't happen soon.

It's different from the hustle and bustle of the Western District, but parading through the Central District, you could feel a certain liveliness.

It feels like there's a lot of people stiffly dressed. There are several organizations here that play a central role in the country, like the Adventurer's Guild and the Knights, so there are probably a lot of people involved with them here.

To be precise, the Adventurer's Guild isn't just under the jurisdiction of this kingdom, but it goes beyond our borders to the rest of the world. The reality is that all countries are more or less dependent on the Guilds, especially when it comes to maintaining security.

… By the way, where is the Magician's Academy?

I haven't had any particular business with them so far, but I'd like to complain to Lucy again if I can spare the time, so I'd like to know where it is and visit it.

“We're here,” Kuruni said. “This is the place.”

“Hmm,” I said.

It was after we walked for a while.

What I saw was a house that had been converted into a smithy, which was pretty ordinary if I do say so myself.

Above the door was a large sign with the store's name.

Valder the Blacksmith, huh? Guess he's going for exactly as the name says.

Yeah, simple is good.

“Mr. Valdeeerrr!” Kuruni cried as she threw the door open and we entered.

“Ooh! Welco… what now, Kuruni?”

“Mmn!” Kuruni whined. “You're so ruuude! I'm still a customer, you know!”

“Gahahaha! Sorry, sorry!”

In response to Kuruni's greeting, a slightly older man with a tightly muscled body came out from the back of the store.

A gruff voice. He's got short, trimmed silvery hair and on top of that, his well-trimmed beard added to his dandy-like appearance. Strong upper arms peeking through his undershirt, and impressive pectorals visible below all his clothes. In the good sense, he's got a body that doesn't match his age.

In terms of hold old he is, he's above me and below my father.

His greetings with Kuruni are full of laughter, you could say he's rather happy to see her.

“Oops, Lady Citrus is with you, huh,” he said. “And… oooh…?!”

“It's been a while, huh, Valder?” I asked.

After he glanced at Kuruni then Alexia, he stopped at me.

“… If it isn't Master Beryl?!” Valder cried. “It has been a while!”

The voice and his expression made his surprise and joy clear to see.

Chapter end