Chapter 18

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Rumba started her sword practice right away the morning after staying at the mansion.

I was about to have Rumba practice with Elinora, but I got caught by Father Nord.

"Al, let's practice with me. I got the urge to swing a sword after hearing the old stories."

His smile wasn't his usual bright one; it felt a bit sinister. You know, right? We're using wooden swords, right?

So, here I am, currently in the middle of a sparring match. Of course, I'm at a disadvantage. Father Nord's body isn't even scratched.

He blocks, deflects, and occasionally trips me to pull me to the ground.

"Hey, Father Nord! Tripping is too harsh today, isn't it!?"

"…No, it's not. Come on, attack me."

Grrr. Is this because of yesterday? You're still angry about yesterday, aren't you?

I deduced that today's harsh practice is because of yesterday.

I've kissed the ground so many times just from sparring with Father Nord!

You're being childish, Father Nord.

"Try to hit me. If you don't, you'll get hit on the head again."

Father Nord laughed and taunted me.

I see, if I do that, I can get back at him.

"Father Nord, no matter how many times you hit my head, I won't forget about being a Dragon Slayer."

"…"

Huh? That's strange. Wasn't this a taunting battle? I didn't get any response.

As I stared at Father Nord, he suddenly seemed to fade. When I realized it, my vision was swaying, and I saw a clear blue sky.

There was no pain.

"…That guy is an idiot…"

Rumba said something, but I couldn't hear it clearly. That's strange?

Ah, the sky is blue today.

As I took in the clear blue sky, my consciousness sank into darkness.

---

"Ah, Al is awake!"

When I opened my eyes, Elinora was in my room with a worried expression.

Huh? Where am I? Who am I?

My name is Alphriete. My original name is Ijyu Inoue... I remember it clearly.

"Hey, girl, don't shake me so suddenly. Let me rest today."

"Okay."

"By the way, the right to drag you around tomorrow is mine."

"Kee! I'm so frustrated! Why can't I hit you even once!"

Rumba laughed heartily and left the room.

"Al, I'll leave your food and water here. If you can't eat it, I'll feed you."

"I can eat by myself."

"Tsk."

"Huh?"

Huh? Did you just click your tongue? That's not a proper behavior for a girl, is it?

"Um, nothing! If you can't eat by yourself, call me!"

Elinora emphasized "can't eat by yourself" a lot.

I don't need you to feed me. If I let her once, she'll keep doing it every time.

"Yeah, it's not that serious. Just a concussion."

"Is that so? I don't know what you said, but don't make Father Nord angry."

By the way, if you translate "It's nothing!" in the female dictionary, it means:

"It's nothing!" = "No, I actually have complaints, but I'll let it go for now."

And the female dictionary also says:

"Yeah, probably" = "It's definitely not going to work, right?"

"Which one of these clothes do you like better?" = "I already know the answer. Of course, it's this one, right? Oh?"

"That's fine" = "I'm not satisfied, but I'll let it go."

"Do you like me?" = "I want you to buy something for me."

"Wait a moment, okay?" = "Just so you know, it takes time for a girl. It will take a while."

Everyone is recommended to study this female dictionary thoroughly before interacting with or dating women.

From my experience, the most dangerous phrase is "It's fine!" After that, if you respond with "Is that so? I see," the next day, you'll hear a lot of complaints about yourself.

Humility is a virtue of the Japanese, but this is a bit much. No, this is just a delayed explosion of anger. Not humble at all.

"Then, I'll be going now."

"Okay, thank you, Elinora."

Elinora waved at me, who was still in bed, and left the room.

"Even when you're weak, you're cute! I wanted to feed you!"

...Elinora, I can hear you clearly.

That day, I spent it lying around slowly.

---

The next day, Rumba came early in the morning and said, "You should be fine now! Let's go out!"

She dragged me to the village, saying she wanted to see the village and have me guide her. Well, if that's the case, I'll show her the good things about Koriatt Village!

We walked the usual path from the mansion.

"There's a lot of wheat around here. By autumn, this green wheat will turn golden and look beautiful."

"Yeah, this wheat welcomes people entering the village and sees them off when they leave."

"...It's like a mother."

"Maybe."

Thinking about it, the wheat seemed even larger and more gentle. There are a lot of mothers in this village.

By the way, there was no old man (Roland) in the wheat field today.

There were a few older men and women working.

"Let's go to the square. There are a lot of people there."

"Right, Trilla said the square here is bustling with bartering and such."

As we approached the square, the houses became more densely packed. In this village, new residents don't necessarily build their houses at the edge, but slightly away from the center. Some build their houses in the center due to business or job reasons.

So, the houses in the center are mostly the oldest residents or those who own businesses like Celia's restaurant (not saying Celia is the oldest) or Elman, who has a job.

"Wow, there are quite a few people gathered. If this were closer to the capital, even more people might have gathered."

Elman's furniture and vegetables and mountain herbs that can only be found here were on display, and Rumba was asking questions frequently.

Rumba seems rough, but she pays attention to the details and thoroughly investigates new things. It makes me think she's an adventurer.

The reason she was exhausted during the journey was that she was sharing food with hungry children.

There are such poor places on the way to this village.

"Al! I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

"Then, let's go to Celia's restaurant. Do you have money?"

"Don't worry! I brought a gold coin today!"

Rumba proudly showed a gold coin, which was shining in her fingers.

"Gold coins are rarely used here. It might be a problem if you use them. Are you going to eat that much?"

"What?!"

"Well, I think it's fine at Celia's restaurant. She's been doing well recently."

"...Why is the village restaurant doing well?"

"You'll see when you go in."

We could see the sign for "Celia's Restaurant" in the distance.

"It looks quite spacious."

"Other village restaurants are small and cozy."

"It became large for a certain reason."

I said this with a wry smile as I opened the door.

"Aaaaaah! I lost again! My omelet!"

The old man who shouted was the one from before. He was here.

He probably lost an omelet in a game of Reversi or Shogi. He never learns.

I can imagine Natalie's struggles, even though I haven't seen them.

Still, this old man is weak but loves to play. Logan is the same. They keep challenging even though they lose. They're impossible to handle.

"...What is this?"

"I think they're playing Reversi or Shogi. Because of this, there's a big commotion every night, and the place got too crowded, so they expanded."

"Reversi? Shogi? Is this what Trilla had the other day?"

I've been giving Trilla the rights to sell Reversi since last year. A percentage of the sales goes to our Slowlett family.

Surprisingly, this world has patents. Apparently, without them, magic tool craftsmen wouldn't be rewarded. The world of craftsmen is tough.

"Hey, you have a new face? Want to play Reversi?"

"How do you play?"

The old man noticed Rumba, stood up, and led her to a seat.

"I see, this seems doable for me!"

After listening to the old man's explanation, Rumba got excited.

"Let's bet on one omelet, how about it?"

Whoa, old man, are you trying to take advantage of a beginner?

"What's an omelet? Do you just burn chicken eggs?"

"Here, this is it."

The old man showed Rumba an omelet on the table.

"Try it."

"Hey! That's mine!"

The omelet wasn't the old man's; another man complained.

"Whatever, just one piece."

"Then I'll take it."

"Aaaah!"

"I ate it all."

Rumba, who ate spaghetti with a big mouth, probably misunderstood "one piece" as "all of it." She has a big mouth.

"Delicious!"

"Of course! I'll give you a special Roland Special omelet!"

Ah, I had one of those before. It's an omelet with mushrooms and mountain herbs mixed in. It's quite tasty, but it doesn't look good.

"I want seconds!"

"No, not now. We have to play Reversi first! If you want to eat, you have to beat me first!"

"Al, can I hit him?"

"Beat him in Reversi."

Rumba, who was a bit scared, relaxed after hearing my words and started setting up the stones.

Rumba, who was initially frustrated because she couldn't eat the omelet, gradually got into the game and leaned forward.

"Whoa! I can't place anywhere!"

"Hmm... then I'll pass."

What's with that "Hmm" old man.

"Roland comes here every day, as usual."

The owner of the restaurant, Celia, came to my side.

"It's quite busy at noon, but it must be even more crowded at night."

"True. With alcohol, it gets even more crazy. Fights break out often, and I can't handle them."

"Huh?"

"What's 'huh'?"

What is this person saying? She's stronger than her husband, who is the captain of the vigilante group.

"No, I just thought fights break out. Ah, ahaha."

After hearing my words, she relaxed. What kind of pirate king's pressure is this?

"Right, when that happens, my husband gives a good punch!"

She mimicked a right straight punch as if doing shadow boxing.

That's amazing. Even a heavyweight professional boxer would be impressed.

"And then, Celia gives a good punch to her husband, right?"

I mimicked the same right straight punch. No, my right arm can't aim for the world.

"Right, right. If he even flirts with a woman or slacks off, I give him a good punch! Alphriete, come here for a moment?"

She nodded twice with a smile and led me to the kitchen by the hand.

What? Did I do something wrong?

The men looked at me with pity. Stop it! Don't look at me like that.

After that, I got hit on the head with a ladle and was made to wash dishes.

While washing dishes, I felt the pitying gaze of Celia's daughter, Carla, next to me.

"You never learn, do you?"

---

"Hey, Roland. I always wonder, is that guy an idiot? He did the same thing at the mansion yesterday and got beaten by his father."

"Yeah, everyone thinks that. The special frying pan for the omelet, Reversi, and Shogi, all were his ideas..."

"Well, they say the line between an idiot and a genius is thin."

"Yeah, he's one of the seven wonders of the village."

"That guy? Hehe, that's funny. What are the other wonders?"

"There's a luxurious stone house that was built without anyone knowing. The villagers say the spirits built it."

"Huh? I thought Al built it?"

"Then, that's another one of the seven wonders!"

"What else?"

"Come on, Rumba. Let's have a drink first."

"Sure."

"Hey, more drinks!"

The other wonders will be for another time.