Chapter 9

"…………Where am I?"

I regained consciousness on the bed in the mayor's house in Ofer Village. In the dim light, the faint glow of the magic lamp swayed, illuminating the room.

"Have you woken up?"

An old maid, who was about to place my folded clothes on a nearby stand, glanced at me.

"Why am I here?"

"Sir Christophe brought you and Sir Bolman, who had collapsed outside the village, here."

The old maid answered without changing her expression.

"What about Giles and Staniew? Are they alright!?"

I instinctively sat up halfway. The old maid nodded quietly, placed her hands on my shoulders, and laid me back on the bed.

"They are resting in their respective rooms. They have no serious injuries and are fine."

Relief washed over me, and I let out a deep breath.

"That's good... I'm glad..."

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I'm glad. Both of them are safe, truly glad...

My poor judgment had put their lives in danger. I am unworthy of being their master.

"…Sir Bolman?"

The old maid gave me a puzzled look.

"Ah, no, it's nothing…"

I hastily wiped away my tears with the blanket.

"So, are the two of them awake?"

If they were awake, I wanted to see them. But...

"They should still be sleeping."

My hopes were quickly dashed.

"Sir Bolman, you should rest as well. While your injuries and stamina may be recovering with items, the mind does not heal so quickly."

The old maid poured water from a pitcher into a glass and handed it to me with a strange intensity that left me unable to argue.

"…I understand. As long as they are safe, that's all that matters."

I drank the water and handed the glass back to the maid. I felt a wave of drowsiness, perhaps from mental fatigue.

"I need to talk to them properly tomorrow…"

I muttered this as I succumbed to sleep.

The next day, I was able to meet the two of them safely. Both seemed to be a bit shaken mentally, but physically they were fine.

It turned out that a villager had happened to see our battle and immediately called for the guard, Christophe.

Christophe found the three of us being overwhelmed by two grasshoppers, quickly slew the grasshoppers, and carried the unconscious trio to the mayor's house.

This incident led to us, who were already known by a certain nickname among the villagers, being given an even worse name.

Namely, "Grasshopper Cushions." Well said. We were indeed stepped on.

When Giles heard about the nickname, he nearly lost his temper, but I reminded him that without the strength to back it up, his complaints would sound like a defeated dog's bark. Considering our past actions, it was inevitable that we would be treated this way for a while.

We should be grateful to the villager who alerted Christophe!

One week later, early in the morning.

In the city of Pent, where the lord's mansion is located.

The training ground for the lord's soldiers in the outskirts had turned into a boot camp.

"Come on, come on, we just started!"

Christophe, Giles' father, bellowed with his deep voice.

"Damn, how can that muscle-bound guy run so fast in full armor?!"

Giles, who was running in front, panted and cursed.

"Y-Yeah, exactly!"

I nodded in agreement, panting heavily.

Christophe, with his tall, muscular frame, was running at a brisk pace, his metal armor clanking and his practice sword swinging from his belt. His short, nearly white silver hair made him look like a foreign special forces commander who had somehow gotten into cosplay.

"Huff, huff, huff…"

But it was tough. My body, which had never done much exercise, was struggling even with just running. Even in my previous life, I had never been involved in sports.

Although our pace was slow, we had been running for twenty minutes. Staniew had already collapsed far ahead.

On the third day after returning to the lord's mansion in Pent, as requested, Christophe began teaching us swordsmanship.

By participating in his morning training.

"Alright, next is wooden sword practice! If you don't want to lose to grasshoppers again, you need to work hard!! Hahaha!!!"

Shut up, musclehead.

Christophe seemed delighted to be asked and was overly enthusiastic. This was bad. I might drop out before the others.

I was on all fours, drenched in sweat, regretting my decision to ask for his help.

The results of Christophe's boot camp became apparent in just a few days, and in a very clear way.

"Ah, Bolman, you're not eating anymore?"

In the morning dining hall, while my parents were finishing their plates, I, the only piglet, was staring blankly at my breakfast.

"…Ugh"

I covered my mouth to suppress the rising nausea in response to my mother's question.

For the past few days, my body, exhausted from morning training, could not handle solid food, and I could barely drink soup.

By noon, I could manage to eat something light, but throughout the day, it was clear that my calorie intake was insufficient, and I could see the fat on my jaw and belly melting away.

In other words, my diet was a success. Great job!!

…Yeah. Distorting the facts isn't good. Let me rephrase that.

I was looking haggard.

"…Well, I can't help it. I'll eat it for you."

My mother, with a gleeful expression, reached for my plate.

"Cheater! I'll help too!"

My father, competing with my mother, also reached for the plate. The poor piglet, unable to protect his soup bowl from the speed of his parents, felt his already worn-out spirit further depleted.

The results of the boot camp extended beyond just weight loss. In just one week, my level had increased by two. Amazing, Christophe. Amazing, me!?

I was actually quite surprised by this result. Not because my level had increased by two in a short time, but because my experience points had increased and my level had risen without defeating any enemies.

In the game Ygtria Notes, there was no option or menu for "sword training." The only way to level up was to defeat enemies and gain experience points.

I didn't know how the level system in the game differed from this world, but I had assumed that to level up, one had to fight enemies and gain experience points.

I had asked Christophe for sword training because I was afraid to face monsters without knowing the basics of swordsmanship, and I had hoped to learn some sword techniques. This unexpected outcome was a pleasant surprise.

Incidentally, Giles and Staniew had also leveled up, each by one. Giles was originally one level higher, and Staniew often gave up first, so this was a reasonable result.

I would vomit after morning training and spend the morning lying on my bed like a dead person. By noon, I would get up, go to the village of Tena's ledger with Camille, the treasurer, memorize its contents, and return to my room to write down the numbers in my notebook.

As I spent my days in this new life after reincarnation, the day I had been dreading approached quickly.

The day to greet my fiancée and her parents.