Volume 1 - CH 2

"Sei! Sei!"

"Teiyaaa!"

On the outskirts of the city, there was a magnificent building surrounded by a wall, and even from outside I could hear the voices of the people getting ready to go.

There was no sign, but I was sure it was here.

I went inside the gate with Meena.

Then I saw four young men in the courtyard holding bronze swords and swinging them. They weren't wooden swords or bamboo swords, were they? Well, I guess it's natural, since we usually have to fight monsters here.

"Are you prospective students?"

A brown-haired man in iron armor came toward us with a smile. This guy must be the dojo master, or at least a teacher.

"That's right."

"Okay, the fee is one thousand gold per month, or fifty gold per day if you want to pay by the day, but if you want to learn everything, you should do it for at least three months. Of course, you have your own budget, so you can decide how long you want to do it."

"Yes, then fifty gold for two people."

It would be a shame to suddenly pay for a month and then say, "I can't do this because it's too hard". He seemed to be willing to refund me for the days I didn't attend, but I had to try it out for a few days first. I don't have enough money to pay Meena's fee.

"Fine. Yeah, I'll pay later."

I wondered what would happen if he just taught us and ran away, but I guess the current apprentices would be enough to run the business.

"So, have you been taught how to hold a sword?"

"No."

"Okay, then I'll teach you from there."

We've got the right equipment, but this guy seems to know what we're capable of.

"Yes, Errr, are you Welbard-san?"

"Yes, I am the owner of this dojo. I teach here most of the time, but sometimes Fritz takes over. I'll introduce you. Fritz! Come here for a minute."

Welbard called out loudly to the building in the back, and a young man in cloth clothes soon arrived.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yeah, it's the two new students. I didn't get your names yet, did I?"

"Yes, I'm Alec."

"Meena."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Fritz, the head instructor here."

"I'll teach them at first, but when I'm not here, Fritz, you take care of them. They are still beginners."

"Yes, I understand. Hmm."

When Fritz saw my face, his eyebrows furrowed a little and he looked dubious, but he quickly returned to his normal face.

"So, I'm sorry to call you here, but you can go back now."

"Yes."

"Then I'll teach you how to hold the sword. First, when you hold it with one hand, always hold it just below the brim. I'll tell you why later. Hold it like this, with your thumb up. Now, try it with your own sword."

"Yes."

I did as I was told and carefully pulled it out of its sheath.

"Hmm, that's a bit dangerous. I think you should practice drawing your sword. When you pull out your sword, you should first keep your left hand in the air and pull it straight out while holding your right hand diagonally upward. Remember, if you keep your left hand in front of you here, you'll cut your own hand."

"Yes, sir."

I did as I was told, but with some hesitation.

"All right, Meena, you go join them and do your swinging. You can swing the same way, but keep a firm grip on the handle and don't let go. Make sure there is no one in front or behind you."

"Yes, sir."

"One more time, Alec."

Mmm, I'm not sure I remember. I'll do it again, just like he said.

Welbard grabbed me by the arm and adjusted my position.

"Left arm in this position. And when you pull it out, lower it to the back."

"Like this?"

"Like that. Do it faster."

I draw the sword with my right hand and lower my left arm back. If I try to do it at the same time, it's a little difficult.

"Fufu, is that too hard? Well...This is because the left arm is lowered in order to increase the speed of the sword drawing. That's why it's useless if you don't build up momentum."

"Oh, I see."

Now that I know why he lowers his left arm back, I'm going to give it some momentum.

"Yeah, like that! You need to practice so that you can do it quickly, whenever you want. I'll also teach you how to use a sword. Meena, come here."

This time, he taught me how to grip the edge of the scabbard with my left hand and insert it at a slight angle instead of straight. This way, it's harder to get the sword out of position. As a person who once made a mistake and cut the base of his thumb and healed it with herbs, it was the right decision to learn here.

Pull it out, put it in. Pull it out, pull it in.

"Okay, Meena, you're done. Go back to swinging."

"Yes."

Also, it's just me, one-on-one.

Pull it out, pull it in. Pull it out, pull it in.

"Uhm, sir, you don't have to teach me alone, but..."

I thought it would be a little too much, so I said.

"Yeah, if only it were a little less dangerous. Beginners need to be watched closely or they will get hurt. Don't worry, the other students have been given their assignments and are moving on to the next level. But Alec, you need to focus on yourself first."

"Okay."

Pull it out, put it in. Pull it out, pull it in.

"Uhm."

"What is it?"

"Are we still doing this?"

"Yeah, not yet. You'll keep doing it until I say it's okay. It's not gonna be fun, but if you don't learn how to do it right, you're gonna cut your own hand off."

"Okay, sir"

I think I can already do that... Mmm, It's off.

"You need to concentrate more. Look closely at the sheath."

"Yes."

"Father, the tea is ready. Why don't you take a break?"

With that, a blonde woman with an iron cup on a tray came over. She had a slightly childish face and could be described as a girl, but her calm demeanor suggested that she was older than a high school student.

"Oh, Ione. Well, let's take a break."

We all sat down on a bench at the edge of the garden and had some tea. This dojo is not too strict, and I think I can make it.

"You must be the new apprentices, right?"

"Alec and Meena. Hmm, you're both well equipped for novices. Are you noblemen?"

"No, sir."

"No, I'm not. Well, you should have good equipment. It's part of your strength.

"Damn, you've got a lot of money. I'm stronger than you, no matter how well equipped I am.

"This is Alec and Meena. Fufu, you're both well equipped for novices."

"No, I'm not."

"Well, you should have good equipment. It's part of your strength."

"Tch, you've got a lot of money. I'm stronger than you, no matter how well equipped you are."

Some cocky looking middle school kid was jealous of my equipment, well, he really would be and I'm not going to buy a fight.

"Billy, that's rude. Everyone isn't strong at first."

The woman who had brought me tea admonished me lightly.　

"But I heard that Fritz and Ione were strong from the start."

"That's...""

"Well, some of us are gifted. But don't worry about it. If you train hard enough, you'll be good at it."

That's what Welbard-sensei said to me, but the way he said it, it seemed that I would never be a top-notch student. Well, I knew I didn't have the talent.

"If you work out, old man, you don't have any muscles, and it's too late to be a swordsman now."

What a cheeky kid. I just want to learn the basics of swordsmanship, not become a swordsman.

"That's rude. Billy."

Ione warned again.

"It's the truth."

"The sooner the better, but it's never too late. Alec, do you have a goal in mind?"

"No, I just want to learn some basic sword fighting."

"Well, that's all right. I think You can learn it in six months. No, maybe a year."

Hey. A year is a long time. Didn't you say three months at first?

"Haha, nevermind. Normally, the basics take three months. I mastered it in two months."

"Billy, everyone grows at a different rate, and I'm not teaching you how to mock others. First of all, you need to learn the basics of etiquette. It's more important than becoming a swordsman."

"Murrgh."

Oh, He's a very decent teacher. I like him.

"Fufu, Billy, now that we have a new student, you want to give him a seniority boost, don't you?"

Ione said teasingly.

"Huh? You're wrong! I'm definitely a senior, but it's not like that. More importantly, Ione, do you have to go to Fritzs?"

"Geez, don't let the child bother you. I've already brought tea for Fritz and the others."

So this girl is Ione. She is beautiful, but from the way she interacts with Billy, she seems to be on good terms with Fritz. The dojo owner's daughter and the young master, well, it's a good combination.

I don't care, because I have Meena. Meena is more beautiful... well, Ione is quite beautiful too, but Meena is at my mercy when it comes to sex. She's usually obedient and has nothing to say.

Ione looked a little embarrassed and seemed to notice my gaze, but I think she was just embarrassed and didn't have any feelings for me.

"Thanks for the tea."

I return the empty teacup to Ione.

"No,no you're welcome. Good luck with your sword fighting, Alec-san."

Ione is a good girl, she said with a smile. I don't know why she neglected Meena and only encouraged me, but I guess she was showing her benevolent spirit because I was the only one who seemed to have a tough future ahead of me. Tsk, I don't like this.

Again, pull it out and put it in, pull it out and put it in, if this were sex, I could do it over and over again, but with swords, I get bored.

"Alec, your left arm's coming down. Your speed has also dropped. It may be hard at first, and it may not be fun, but drawing and delivering swords is the foundation of swordsmanship. Let's work hard on them."

"I understand."

I'm not an idiot, so I know what I'm doing. When I have saved up enough money to quit being an adventurer, I'll leave the Demon King and all that to Shiraishi, Erwin and the others, and I'll stay here with Meena and relax.

"Ah! It's hurts!"

I lightly cut my finger on my left hand when I was delivering the sword. It was a bad idea to let my guard down because I thought I was getting used to it.

"Let me see."

"Huh."

"Ione! I need you to bring me some herbs."

"Ah, no, you don't need, I've got my own."

"Is that so."

"Master, here you go."

Meena pulls out some herbs from the item storage and hands them to me. I crush it with my fingers and apply it to the cut. It healed quickly.

If it weren't for this herb, I wouldn't have had the motivation to become an adventurer.

"Hou~, Item storage, huh. Aren't you guys aspiring adventurers?"

Welbard asked.