Volume 14 - CH 3

The Welbard Kenjutsu Dojo in the Kingdom of Vernia.

It was the first place I learned swordsmanship after arriving in this world.

Not only did the master teach me swordsmanship, but he also taught me how to have a good attitude and how to behave as a superior.

I learned that the title of Master is not just a title, but a role model for his or her students.

In that sense, I'm still inexperienced when it comes to being a clan leader.

「Yes, yesterday. Long time no see, Fritz.」

Ione also smiled as if she was relieved to see Fritz.

「Eh, you two know each other!?」

Yulia is surprised, but .......

「Yeah, of course I know her very well, She's the Sensei's daughter, Ione.」

「Wha!? Ha! Ione!? Aaaaaahhhhhh!」

She must have heard her name, but she didn't realize it.

「No, Yulia, you don't have to be so surprised. I'm glad to hear that Alec and Meena are both doing well.」

Fritz smiled and asked me to shake his hand, so I shook his hand firmly.

His tall figure and silver hair are not changed a bit, but he seems to have gotten more courageous and manly than before.

「Now, I'm going to serve you some tea, so please come on inside. Bianca! We have a guest! Prepare a tea, please.」

「Su~re」

We all take off our shoes and go up to the wooden floor of the dojo. Nothing's changed here from before.

「Well, have a seat.」

Fritz pulled out a cushion for me.

「Thank you for waiting. Oh, Ione-san.」

「Long time no see, Bianca. And that belly ......」

Ione noticed the girl's stomach as she brought us a tray of tea, but it looked strangely distended.

Her face was that of a slender child, but only her belly looked fat.

「Ah yes, It's Fritz's child.」

After the freckled girl put down her tray, she smiled and patted her belly lovingly.

「Eehh? Hey, what are you doing, Fritz?」

「Eh, no, this is...」

Ione's unusually stern face made Fritz impatient.

「I can't believe you made a pregnant woman bring us a tea. I would have done it myself」

That way. Fritz regained his composure.

「Oh, I'm sorry.」

「It's okay, this much. They say it's better to move to a certain extent」

「That's good, then. But the wedding?」

「Yeah, the ceremony took place right after you guys left, six months ago.」

「Well, congratulations, both of you.」

Ione says, smiling. We'll congratulate you too.

「Thank you.」

「Alec, if you touch Bianca, I'll kill you.」

Serina whispered in my ear, but I'm not that outgoing.

「Idiot. Don't talk nonsense.」

「I hope so.」

「Yulia, what are you sneaking around for? Come here so I can properly introduce you too.」

Fritz said, and Yulia, who had been hiding at the entrance and peeking at us, came hurriedly.

「Y-yes! I-I'm sorry about earlier...」

「Fufu, you treated the heir to the dojo as a suspicious person, you called your brother rude, and you almost killed your senior student.」

Ione said teasingly.

「Hauwahh! I beg your pardon!」

「Ehh?」

「I'm kidding. You don't worry about it. I'm an outcast, so I'm not an heir, and my two brothers aren't mad at you.」

Ione said softly. Fritz and Bianca were puzzled, so I explained to them what had just happened.

「――that's what happened」

「What, you thought they were a dojo-breaker? You're so careless for such a skilled fighter, Yulia.」

Fritz smiled bitterly.

「I am truly sorry.」

「But it's quite a feat for you to become a master in six months. I wonder if sensei's guidance was good?」

Ione said, but I think he meant Fritz. I see, you've been promoted.

「No, she was strong before I taught her. She's Orson-sensei daughter.」

「Oh, Uncle Orson's, huh. No wonder.」

Fritz and Ione seem to know him well.

「No, my father was an inexperienced swordsman who was beaten by a bandit.」

「Yulia ....... If you are going to humble yourself, don't speak ill of your father. Orson-sensei was a fellow student of Welbard-sensei, and his abilities were well regarded by Welbard-sensei.」

Fritz admonished her.

「Haah, But...」

「It was the wrong opponent. Even the soldiers of the royal capital had a hard time with Galdon, and even Ione was badly wounded.」

Bianca told me that the bandit who did Orson tried to get his hands on Ione as well. That's a little unforgivable.

「Ah, It's Blood Shadow.」

Meena said, but that name sounds a little familiar.

「Eh, so the bandit-head from that time. He was definitely high level, and his level is 34, right?」

Serina asks me for confirmation.

「Hmm?」

「Geez, we already defeated him ourselves.」

「Oh, I don't remember that at all. Well, if we beat it, that's fine.」

「Ehh?」

「Haha, that's just like Alec.」

「Ah, Ahh, thank you so much for avenging my father's death! Kkuh, to such a benefactor ......!」

Yulia bows her head, but she's a stiff

「Don't worry about it, you didn't know what we looked like either, so there's nothing you can do about it. Anyway, Fritz, when is sensei coming back?」

「Oh, that's ......」

Fritz showed a gloomy face.

「Oi! Is it true that Alec and the others are back!」

Just then, I heard a brash kid's voice, and he came up with a thud.

「Hey, Billy! No shoes allowed in here. Take them off and dust them.」

「You're so finicky, Fritz. Oh! It's Alec, isn't it? What's with the black armor?」

As expected of a boy, Billy was the first to bite on this armor, but brother Fritz is scolding him here.　

「Just do what your teacher told you to do. I'll explain the origin later.」

I turned around and said curtly.

「Kkegh, what the hell is a teacher? Fritz is just a little bit older than me, isn't he?」

「Oh, my, I guess you'll have to prove yourself then, Fritz.」

Ione said.

「Fuuh, I guess we'll just have to do that.」

Fritz also stands up with a wooden sword.

「O-Oi, wait a minute, everyone's back and you're an adult, Fritz, ouch, Alec, help!」

Billy bends down and ducks under Fritz's horizontal slash, but he seems to have improved his skills.

I used [Instantaneous Movement] to move away from Billy so that Fritz could easily corner him.

「What the hell!? Alec is gone!? Ogyaaa! Ouch, ouch, ouch!」

「Billy, do you still need guidance?」

「That's not guidance! That's bullying! That's abuse!」

「Ehh?」

「Fritz, you're too soft on him. Break his ass into four pieces. It'll make Billy a little more mature. As a swordsman.」

I said to him to get him to reflect quickly.

「All right, all right, I'll wipe it off, I'll wipe it off. Damn it.」

Billy took off his boots and threw them outside, and reluctantly began to do the dusting.

「Good grief, ....... You're getting pretty good at this, Alec.」

「Well, yeah. It's not so much swordsmanship as it is level and skill.」

「You've dived into dungeons to raise your level, but it seems to be more than that.」

「Well, I've raised mine in Grandsword's Labyrinth of No Return. But you shouldn't do that. That place is not for the orthodox like you. There are too many traps.」

「The Labyrinth of No Return, huh. It's a place where even the best adventurers lose their lives. As the person who entrusted the dojo to me, I couldn't go there even if I wanted to.」

Fritz laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

「About that, Welbard-sensei is ......」

When I cut him off, Fritz wrinkled his brow and said bitterly.

「Sensei is dead.」

「What!?」

「「 Eh!? 」」