Chapter 29: Arrival

Certainly, Finia had some battle knowledge. It was the least she could have in order to protect an important person like me. But when it comes to fighting seriously, she didn’t have a way to do so.

「I have mainly been studying housekeeping in order to serve Lyell-sama. Also, since I will be serving them, I thought it wouldn’t be necessary for me to be too strong in order to be useful. Even if I did have some odd skills, it would still pale in comparison to the two of them」

That is true. Fighting battles on the level of me or Lyell would be like comparing normal people against strong people capable of saving the world. It would be too absurd if they did ask her to be at least be on the same level as they are.

「But if I don’t want to be a burden and be Nicole-sama’s support, I would like to at least be able to fight alongside her!」 「That, are you implying that I am too weak? 」 「N, No, that’s not it, it’s just……」

Well, right now, I am indeed not in a very good state. Even if I did learn swordsmanship seriously and have a lot of past experience backing me, I can only fight for a short amount of time before completely exhausting myself.

「I guess, it’s not really that bad if you want to get stronger, considering what the future may hold」 「That’s right!」

In Raum, there’s no Lyell or Maria. There are Maxwell and Cortina in exchange though. If there’s really a problem, it would be that they are both rearguard units.

Cortina is a beastman, which makes her possess higher physical ability than most people, but that would still pale in comparison to professional vanguard classes. As for the old elf Maxwell, it won’t even be strange if an average person would be able to defeat him. Wait, in terms of elf years, maybe it would be bad to consider his age as old?

「Then I will consult Leon-san about it! I’m sorry, it’s because I don’t really have any knowledge in regards to teaching swordsmanship, I won’t be able to teach you」 「Ehー」

Ellen inflated her cheeks a little when I show her a disappointed look in my reaction.

「I understand that he doesn’t have a talent for swordsmanship, but he has been working hard despite the lack of talent. You do know that the experience he accumulated would still be able to help, right? 」 「Well, I guess so」

Now that I think about it, Lyell’s fighting experience and mine are just too abnormal, and it would certainly be useless if it was taught to Finia who is an ordinary person. Another thing is that, most masters of their fields have grown too much when it comes to their specialty and that most of them are really bad at teaching. I have been learning concealment from Cortina before, but I was not able to properly teach it to someone else.

「Well, can I also join Finia in learning the basics? 」 「Nicole-chan already knows how to fight, right? 」 「Well, Ly―― I mean I was trained by Daddy after all」 「Daddy…… Ah, Lyell-sama! I’m envious. I would have also liked to be trained by the Hero」 「Well, it would certainly become an advantage」

Although unwilling, Lyell was actually good at teaching people despite holding a gift for combat tactic. Well, it’s probably because of his calm and patient attitude, which is a plus for a teacher to have.

As for me, I’m not that patient enough. That’s why instead of patiently following the path of the sword, I abandoned it and moved into the use of steel threads which I was more proficient with.

「Well then, I’ll be resting now」

With my right hand in this condition, it is unlikely that I would be able to swing a sword anytime soon. I will probably have to lay low for a while. Also, I can’t really force myself to do things that I can’t do. Just like what I have experienced in my previous life, I know that I won’t like the results if I force myself. If I need to rest, then I have to rest. It’s one of the tips in order to improve myself.

「Oh, that’s right. Let’s see…… well, your right wrist is certainly in a bad state compared to your left. It will recover by just letting it rest for a while since there are no other damages or fractures」 「My findings were also the same」 「Then we could rest assured. And since there are no heavy wounds or damages in your left hand, it will definitely recover in a short amount of time. The same goes for your worn out right hand」 「Then let’s do a bit of a fix for now」

Finia applied a compress on my right wrist and then Ellen fixes it with a splint wood. After placing the support and positioning it in place, I could feel the pain slowly fading away.

「Fuuuu~」

The cool feel of the compress penetrating my skin made me unconsciously sigh in relief. Hearing me reacting like that, Finia couldn’t help but giggle a bit.

「Kuku…… Nicole-sama, when you sigh like that and was feeling good, you somehow look like a spoiled cat」 「Fue……?」

It has been a long time since somebody said that my emotions are showing on my face. It does show quite often when it was in my previous life. When I go on missions, I usually leave a cold expression, as if all my emotions are paralyzed……

「Here, Nicole-sama. Please cover yourself with this blanket and take a proper rest」 「Ye~s」

I lay on a pseudo bed that Finia prepared. Then, Ellen and Finia went out since there are still things to clean-up, like dismantling the vultures for instance. For vultures, their feathers could be sold along with their meat, so it takes time to completely strip it all off.

Then, my trials started during the supper of that day. It takes a lot of time for me to finish the meal since my right hand is currently firmly fixed and could not move. Seeing my state, Finia and Michelle-chan came to me and started doing the 『Ahhhn』 to me. I wanted for them to stop. Adding to that, it was extremely awkward since Ellen was also joining us to check on my condition.

「Okay, now please open your mouth. Nicole-sama」 「Say ahhhn, Nicole-chan」 「Ah, wait, let me join too! Nicole-chan, over here, please say ahhhー」 「Mugumugu! Mugu!?」

I was assaulted by soup, dried vegetables, and other foodstuffs being forced into my mouth without a break. What’s worse was the soup that Michelle-chan is feeding was not cooled down, it was almost turning into torture for me if not to the fact that they are doing this out of concern.

「He- hey, I’m already full」 「Eh, but you haven’t eaten that much yet!」 「That’s not it Michelle-chan. Nicole-sama has a very light appetite…… I think the amount she has eaten today could already be said to be too much?」

Michelle and Ellen were quite shocked by the fact that Finia had just informed them.

「Is, is that so?」 「Even though she is indeed a child, is that really too much for her already?」 「No, that’s just how she is. Even when she was a baby, she doesn’t drink Maria’s Milk that much, and even I was really worried at that time」 「Doesn’t that sound a little bit too dangerous!」

Ellen was really shocked about what Finia told her. It is certainly a really bad situation if a baby refuses to drink her mother’s milk. Maria felt as if the world had ended at that time until she found cow’s milk as a substitute. Lyell was also included as a bonus. Well, at that time, I can’t really do anything about that. I was too concerned about how I should react.

「We can’t but feed her that time with only cow’s milk, but it certainly put us at ease when she finally started to drink milk」 「That’s probably why her body didn’t develop that much……」 「But Nicole-chan is cute, so that doesn’t matter!」

From the side listening to the two, Michelle-chan inserted herself to the conversation and hugged me. I don’t dislike her honest expression of love, but it’s really hurting my right hand that was caught in between.

「Michelle-chan, right hand, that’s going to hurt, you know?」 「Ah, I’m sorry!」

After Finia pointed it out, Michelle-chan immediately released me. After realizing her mistake and showing an apologetic face, she apologized to me for the sudden impulse.

Although it was somewhat inconvenient, I didn’t really have much of a hard time because of the people supporting me. Well, when it comes to other private matters, it was really a pain, but other than that, Michelle-chan and Finia always helped.

And then, when the pain in my right hand finally started to fade, and along with my left hand finally recovering. We have arrived in the forest of elves and the elven country Raum.