CH 318.2

「I will be away for a month and a half sometime soon. So I won’t be able to watch over your practice during that time, but be sure to follow your captain’s lead and continue to practice.」

The members of the club suddenly start to murmur at the sudden announcement. Among them, only the captain of the men’s club, who already had a guess, opens his mouth with a surprised expression on his face.

「Could it be, you managed to get a ticket!?」

The coach grins and nods.

The captain shouts in frustration to the club members who didn’t understand what he meant.

「I’m talking about the Rose Cup!」

After everyone let out a groan of understanding, the level of excitement rose dramatically in the training hall.

It was only natural. The 『Rose Cup』 is like a world tournament for men’s flower arrangement held once every two years in the Empire. There is no one who walks this path who does not aspire to take a part in it.

Incidentally, the 『Lily Cup』, the world’s greatest women’s tournament, is held in the Valley of the Lilies, but in a different year.

「There was a war going on. So, I was worried about what would happen for a while.」

The coach breathed out a sigh of relief, though he was also proud of himself for getting the tickets. The truth is, there has never been a year in which the event was in such jeopardy as it was this time.

『Two years of working, saving money, watching the game, coming back, and working another two years.』

For him, who repeats this cycle, the phrase 『This is what I’m working for』 is taken at face value. Incidentally, the first week of half of the month is spent going back and forth by golem carriage.

Unlike a Knight who can go straight to his destination with a wide stride, a regular golem carriage is slow and stops at every station while staying at inn towns.

This is the only transportation he can use, so he has no choice.

「When I get back, I’ll give you a very detailed and realistic commentary. So look forward to it.」

The club members cheered happily at the coach’s words.

Leaving the cleaning to the students on duty, the coach headed home through the locker room.

A few hours later, in a room of a one-story tenement house in the downtown area.

(We’ll be able to see each other soon.)

He looked at a poster on the wall.

It was a picture of a large, middle-aged man with white, short hair posing strongly as if to show off his back muscles.

His boomerang-like black pants are embroidered with crimson roses.

(Someday I would like to participate in the tournament as a representative of the Kingdom. And if possible, I would like to fight you.)

Eight years ago, he participated in the Rose Cup as a substitute for the national team and saw his heroic figure up close for the first time.

Since then, Count Rosehip has been a hero and heroine for the Coach. Every day, he is the one he pushed down, and sometimes the one who pushed him down, in his imagination.

(….Time sure went by so fast.)

He has been working hard and diligently pursuing his dream.

However, he has never been able to reach that limit and has never been able to qualify for international competitions.

And recently, he has begun to consider a different approach.

(If I can’t take part as a player, then maybe I can take part as the coach of the international team.)

If you can establish a brilliant track record as a club coach, you might receive an invitation.

Because they are a weak team that is struggling at the bottom, they will strongly attract the attention of others if they can obtain victory

(Two more years. That’s when the current recruits will become core members of the team.).

The man in his thirties with clean-shaven face clenched his fist strongly while thinking about the cutman and the cross-dominant boys.

***

It is nighttime.

I have returned to my home in the royal capital after a business trip that lasted several days. I immediately started chatting with my three familiars in the living room.

「I went over to Lightning’s place, and I saw a giant White Lady growing in the yard there.」

The caterpillar and dung beetle, Imosuke, and Dangoru sat on the bath towel showed interest. The long-lived and knowledgeable turtle only looks at the two animals, who are the older members of my familiars.

「It was almost twice as tall as our medicinal herb tree.」

Imosuke and Dangorou both turned their heads to look out of the window. In the depths of the garden forest, there’s a sparse white, pale light.

『We lost huh?』

『We should try harder.』

The light comes from the White Lady in our garden. It looks beautiful, but it is actually a poisonous mushroom that gives you a rash if you touch it.

『I’ll make it bigger. So that it won’t lose.』

The spirit beast, which resembled a fifth instar larva of a swallowtail butterfly, requested me to pour a lot of potions on the mushrooms. Looks like I had sparked a spirit of rivalry in them.

I rejected this idea, however, because I did not want to increase the size of the poisonous mushrooms.

「We have our own circumstances and they have theirs. Didn’t we originally summon the Capricorns because we wanted to reduce the numbers?」

Poisonous mushrooms and poison ivy. The twisted horn, Capricorns, is a goat-like magic beast that loves to eat such things.

I didn’t want anything poisonous to grow on the rooftop of a residential neighborhood downtown, so I was grateful to have them as reliable members in the garden forest.

『I guess you’re right.』

『Oh, right, we did.』

Both of them agreed with me, so there would be no such thing as 『Coming home to find a giant poisonous mushroom the size of a human being growing in my garden one day』.

We end this conversation here, and I talk about something else.

「There was a spirit beast, too. He looked like a white pig, and he was about the size of this room.」

I asked Imosuke if he knew what that spirit beast is, but it seems he has no idea. Dangoro, on the other hand, gives off a wave as if he was troubled by something.

Apparently, the pig-shaped spirit beast can dig deep into the ground, and if he’s not careful, he can get caught in the middle of it.

『I often see them by the water’s edge.』

The one who said that was Zaratan, the turtle-shaped Great Spirit Beast. He likes to bathe and play in the mud.

When I told the turtle if I wanted to hear more about it, he thought for a moment and then continued.

『It is supposed to only eat the roots of trees and grass.』

After that, I learned more about the pig-shaped spirit beasts from the long-lived and knowledgeable turtle. Now that I’m a little more enlightened, I moved on to the next topic.

The story goes on about the 『Potted Venus Flytrap』 that Imosuke and the others presented to Lightning.

「They moved it from the pot to the garden. He said it was helpful, and he was grateful」

Both animals are happy, but Dangorou is especially happier. Probably because he, as the general, insisted that he wanted the plant to be able to fight.

However, there seems to be something bothering them, and they put their heads together and began to discuss it with themselves.

『It won’t get eaten?』

『It’s worrying.』

It seems they’re vigilant about the pig-shaped spirit beasts. I guess it was because Zaratan had told me earlier that it eats plants from the Spirit Forest.

With a smile, I called out to Imosuke and the others.

「Don’t worry. Lightning is there and he will protect it until it grows to the point it can’t be eaten.」

Imosuke and Dangoro give out waves as if they’re relieved.

『Lightning is strong after all.』

『He won’t lose.』

Because he treated both of them with respect, Imoske, and the others come to like Lightning. And because I, often told them, 『Lightning is very strong』, so they must have trusted him for his strength as well.

When they were no longer worried, they shouted, 『Lightning Sword!』 and began to push each other head-on.

(Though I’m not sure Lightning can beat it no matter how strong he is.)

As I watched Imosuke and Dangorou, I thought to myself.

After all, the pig was as big as a microbus. It would be impossible for him to take it out with a Knight, let alone without one.

But I don’t think that pig-shaped spirit beast would do such a thing.

(Those eyes, those were definitely eyes that show that he knows his place.)

They had bad eyesight but showed deep intelligence.

Both Imosuke and Dangoro are very smart. As for Zaratan, he would far surpass the human race.

(Then the pig-shaped spirit beast should be the same as well.)

Invading the garden of humans’ settlement and devouring their crops. It must have avoided such hassles.

「And then… Ah, right, there was also this festival called the summer festival, you see…」

Then I talk about what happened when I went away.

I’m not sure how interesting the story is. Still, my familiars were there to listen and ask me questions.

Thus we all stayed together until almost bedtime.