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 51

Published at 9th of August 2022 07:03:34 AM

51 - The Old Man From The Countryside Thinks Of A Child

After tying up the pickpockets with rope, I spent some time idling around.

We don't have anything to talk about or anything specific to worry about. I don't hate children and I don't hate Miu, either. She'd had nothing to do with this, she was like some of my students back at the dojo, and she wasn't a particularly bad girl.

Still, the situation is too terrible. It's too difficult to talk after suddenly breaking into a thief's hideout and catching everyone.

So, while the moans of the knocked-out men echo faintly in the walls, I had no choice to keep silent. Until Lucy comes back, at least.

“… I,” Miu started.

“Hmm?” I said.

I was surprised by her voice and turned to her, Miu's mouth was only slightly open, with an indescribable expression.

“I don't know what I should do from now on…” Miu finished.

I couldn't give her a clear answer.

I can't toss out words irresponsibly. Miu is still a kid. And although she's a kid, she's had experiences and values she's cultivated so far, albeit for a short time.

An option that fits with her way of thinking, in line with her reality, and even in her world. It would be a lie to say that there was no such thing, but either way, it was a problem I couldn't handle.

“Well, I'll do something about it,” I said. “That's the responsibility of adults.”

That's why I'm not the only one, it's true for all the adults who stuck their necks into Miu's business. Communicating that heart was the only option I could do right now.

“… Haha, is that so?” Miu asked, laughing powerlessly.

It's impossible to earn her trust with such words. In the first place, I couldn't afford to build a relationship of trust with her.

But, at least I said it. As long as all the good adults have reached out, we have a duty to follow through. Pretending to look the other way after digging in so far would keep you from sleeping at night.

“I'm baaaack.”

How long has it been since the silence fell back on the room, after my question and her answer?

Unlike me and Miu, Lucy reappears sounding rather casual and relaxed.

“Master, thank you for your hard work.”

“Alexia, you're here,” I said.

Behind Lucy, I could see Alexia, Captain of the Knights of Revelio, and some of her subordinate knights. Everyone had rugged plate armor and a wary expression. Well, the dust has almost completely settled.

“… Are these the suspects?” Alexia says, giving a cold look to the men restrained by me and Miu.

“Yeah, they are,” I said. “I think we can call them subdued.”

The eyes of the usually reliable and even more reliable in an emergency Knight-Captain look at me impressed. I'd like to ask Alexia to stop looking at me like that. This old man wants to live in peace and quiet.

“They're also presumably guilty of other crimes,” Lucy said. “I've got no business to attend to, so I'll participate in the interrogation.”

“Yes, understood,” Alexia said.

Lucy secured herself a seat at the interrogation.

Well, if you're Head Magus, you have a lot of flexibility. Probably.

“Well then, take them away,” Alexia said.

“Ma'am!” the other Knights say as one.

They start to carry out the pickpockets. Some of them came to and started struggling, but they couldn't fight tied up with rope and against knights who were trained in combat. All in all, they were taken into custody.

I don't even know what sort of interrogation is waiting for them. At least Alexia wouldn't condone something like torture.

Lucy, I don't know. She feels like she's pretty crazy.

“… By the way,” Alexia started.

Well, for the time being, it's good we've settled one thing but there's another problem still remaining.

Alexia and Lucy looked back at the person of interest.

“What are we going to do with Miu?” Alexia finished.

Right.

She doesn't have a place to stay.

I know that this house was originally a safe house. But here is Lucy, me, and the Knight-Captain making the decisions. It's not a good idea to leave a girl here and let her live as she pleased.

However, it's also terribly irresponsible of an adult to just leave her here, too. As long as we've already stuck our necks in, I thought it was natural we'd take care of her till the end, or at least till the end of our involvement.

“There are no sleeping quarters in the Knight's HQ, but…” Alexia says, looking at the knights carrying the pickpockets off.

Well, they often go there, but they don't stay there all the time. There's also the problem that Miu “couldn't stay” in that place and it's not suitable for a kid. There's also a little anxiety about leaving a little girl all alone there.

Besides, only me, Alexia, and Lucy know about Miu. If you suddenly toss her out into the middle of the knights, it may cause unnecessary friction.

“I'm living in an inn right now…” I said.

However, it's difficult for me to keep that room.

If this was my parent's house or Bidden Village, I could do something about it, but I'm afraid this is the capital city of Baltrain and I'm renting out an inn.

Above all else, Miu wouldn't agree to live with an old man at an inn. I may not be able to say if I wouldn't have the means, but there's a limit to how long she can stay with me. The contents of my wallet are finite.

“She's a mage candidate,” Lucy said. “I can keep her for a while at my home. I've also got a housekeeper.”

Lucy speaks happily amid the dark air that's beginning to rise, somehow blind to it.

I didn't care about it until now, but I wonder where Lucy lives. She's well-off, so long as she's the Head Magus of the Magic Division, and she'll likely have mid to high-range property. She also has a housekeeper. I don't know how much the members of the Magic Division earn.

The Knight's HQ is not the optimal solution, Alexia and my lodgings are a little difficult to work with. It's out of the question to leave her here.

When it comes to the way things have panned out, we've got no choice but to rely on Lucy's proposal.

“… Hmph,” Miu snorts.

She was watching the adults talking.

Yeah, it's hard to say if this was a positive or negative reaction.

However, she probably knows her current problem is more likely to be solved by relying on Lucy. It didn't look like she was visibly opposed. But she isn't happy about it, either.

“… Well then, let's go back for now.”

A while after another awkward silence fell on the place, I awkwardly spat that out.

In any case, I want to return to somewhere calm because it's hard to say that I can relax here. And of course, everyone was already heading to the Knight's HQ.

“Right,” Alexia said. “We can't stay here forever.”

She gives instructions to another of the knights taking the pickpockets out.

They were arrested but that doesn't mean there's no one left in the group. In that case, it's necessary to blockade or control the scene itself until they were reasonably sure it was clear, and the knight was ordered to do that.

“Well, I've worked hard again today, I'll be going back now,” Lucy said.

“You always say that,” Alexia said.

Hahahaa, Lucy laughs it off with a smile.

I feel I was the one who did most of the work. Even though they were amateurs, that was still 5-6 people. No, as long as I didn't know what Twilight was capable of, it's possible I wouldn't have been able to handle him.

“… Tch.”

Perhaps she hated the friendly atmosphere, Miu clucked her tongue.

No, isn't it a little different than hating it? She's simply not used to it. She's spent a lot of time in this world opposite to this peaceful atmosphere.

Like before, I don't know her circumstances, but I would like to do something if I can. I think that's the responsibility of all the adults involved, and from my view, Miu seems the type that you shouldn't leave alone.

I'm not saying she'll run out of control, but if she's not within eyesight of someone, she'll fall apart at any moment.

It's like half-intuition. Although my experience is limited to a swordsmanship dojo in the countryside, my intuition has developed with a not-insignificant amount of kids.

If it's wrong, that's fine. If it is, I'd like to share it with Alexia and Lucy.

“Well then, let's go,” I said, reaching out unintentionally to her.

Although Miu is strong, she still needs an adult's guidance. I know she won't just take my hand, but I can't help what comes out.

“… Hmph.”

As expected, Miu didn't take my hand.

Well, it wouldn't be good for her to be holding an old man's hand as she parades through the city of Baltrain.

However, as she snorted she didn't seem to be in a bad mood.

If I know that much, it's enough for now.

Now then, shall we return to HQ for the time being?

Chapter end