Chapter 18

As the snow began to melt and buds sprouted on the branches, it became the season of spring.

With only a few days left until the spring festival, Rio and Caril's training became more intense.

The square, which was trampled daily, was free of mud thanks to the snow removal, allowing them to fully utilize their leg strength.

Rio quickly shifted his stance to avoid Caril's sword and brought down his wooden sword from above.

Caril lowered one foot and crouched, bending his knees sharply.

Seeing Caril in a crouching position, Rio paused his attack. A sharp impact ran through the wooden sword he had held horizontally to defend.

Caril had extended his knees and swung his left arm like a whip.

While steadying the wooden sword that was shaking from the impact, Rio pointed the tip of his sword at Caril's forehead as a warning.

Immediately after, Caril disappeared from his field of vision.

Caril leaped to the right, lowering his left leg and crouching low to the ground.

Thinking that such rapid movement would be troublesome for a heavily armored knight, Rio also continued to practice his footwork, turning to face Caril and lowering his sword into a defensive stance.

As expected, an impact ran through the lowered wooden sword, causing it to be deflected to the side.

The moment Rio thought he could counter by pulling back his wooden sword, Caril's wooden sword was already at his throat.

"...What? That was fast."

"Didn't you see it? I'll do it slowly, so get ready."

Caril took two steps back and encouraged Rio to get into position.

When Rio lowered the tip of his sword as he had done before, Caril crouched and stepped forward.

"This is how you do it."

Letting go of the handle and gripping the tsuba, Caril slowly struck the tip of Rio's wooden sword with the pommel.

"With this, you can deflect the opponent's sword and counter with a thrust using the movement of your wrist."

"That's reckless."

"The Enro style is a fighting technique. I learned a few techniques from a drunk old man I lent money to when I was an adventurer. It was a helpful style, even though he never paid me back!"

Laughing, Caril adjusted his wooden sword.

"The Enro style is a knightly sword technique, but the Unorthodox Enro style is a derivative. The founder, a knight, was so hated for constantly challenging duels and extorting ransoms and compensation that he later improved it to be effective in urban environments. It's a deceptive and specialized style with unconventional movements and attacks from unnatural stances. It's designed to be lethal on first encounter, so users often don't reveal it. So, don't tell anyone."

"Are you planning to use it in the match with Rokudo?"

"Maybe."

Shrugging and grinning, Caril changed the topic.

"Your movements have improved a lot. You've gained a lot of experience sparring with me, so you can now predict where attacks will come from based on experience."

"Your speed has just sharpened my instincts."

Having faced beasts and wild animals as an adventurer, Caril was incredibly fast and often attacked from a low stance.

Though Rio suffered many painful experiences at first, the training kept him on edge, so he couldn't complain.

Because they had focused on training for the match with Yudo, it was unclear how effective the techniques would be in other situations. Still, Rio's self-taught sword skills had made significant progress thanks to Caril's help.

Caril laughed like a child and tapped his shoulder with the wooden sword.

"Until now, I only learned or stole sword techniques, but creating them is surprisingly fun."

"Your knowledge from various schools helped me visualize the movements."

"Your insight helped me provide the knowledge as solutions."

As they praised each other and laughed, Rio felt the usual gaze.

Noticing Shiraha watching from the shadows, Rio beckoned her over.

Shiraha, who ran over, looked back and forth between Rio and Caril.

"...You're friends."

"We wouldn't train together if we weren't. Do you have something to say?"

Standing slightly away from Caril, Shiraha pointed towards the village entrance.

"A peddler has come from town, so I'm going to do some shopping."

"Go ahead—oh, I'll come too."

Shiraha, who had learned a lot of common sense but had never bought anything with money, would be taken to gain experience, as her parents had decided.

"Caril, sorry, but—"

"Sure, go ahead. I'll talk to the village chief about future plans."

"The beast issue?"

The beast that had caused trouble in the village last year was never found, meaning it was still out there.

Caril nodded seriously and glanced at Shiraha.

"Beasts become more active in spring. There's a possibility the beast will move, so we might have to ask the guild for another search."

"I see. I hope it's found, but I don't."

Finding the beast would cause a big commotion, but not finding it would mean restrictions on entering the mountains.

Caril chuckled and walked towards the village chief's house.

"As long as it doesn't cause trouble before we call in adventurers, it's fine."

After parting ways with Caril, Rio and Shiraha headed to the village entrance together.

"What are you supposed to buy?"

"Honey, salt, thread and needle, cloth, nails—"

"If it's written down, show me. It'll be faster to read it."

Taking the piece of wood from Shiraha, Rio confirmed the items to be bought.

It looked like a lot of items. Rio was probably also there to help carry the load, in addition to being a teacher.

It seemed his parents didn't want to carry the load themselves.

A two-horse carriage was visible at the village entrance.

The large capacity was disproportionate to the small village because the peddler delivered goods to all the nearby villages.

Noticing Rio, the peddler welcomed him with open arms.

"Bringing a girl along? I don't have many accessories, but they're all of guaranteed quality!"

"She's my sister. I brought her to gain shopping experience."

"Are you not going to give her a present as a brother?"

"No, I'm not."

Firmly denying, Rio pushed Shiraha forward.

As Shiraha read out the items written on the piece of wood, the peddler began to arrange the goods with a smile.

While keeping an eye on Shiraha to prevent her from saying anything foolish, Rio noticed a familiar face approaching.

"Rio..."

The one who openly frowned and muttered his name was Yudo and his two cronies.

Yudo stepped forward.

"Skipping the dojo to go shopping with an outsider. What a life you have."

"How can I skip a dojo I don't attend? Besides, Shiraha is not an outsider; she's officially recognized as a village resident by the village chief and is listed in the resident registry with the lord's approval. Your claim is completely baseless, Yudo, and you know it."

Yudo's eyebrows twitched as Rio politely corrected the misunderstanding.

"Skipping the dojo is already a given if you don't attend the one all the village boys go to."

"Is not attending a dojo that village boys voluntarily attend considered skipping? Do you not know that attending a dojo is not an obligation? The purpose of attending a dojo is to learn techniques to protect oneself, not the other way around. Are you confusing the means with the end?"

Yudo began to get irritated as Rio countered his accusations with logic.

"Cut it out! No one cares about your whims. If you're not told it's an obligation, you won't train, right!?"

"I train on my own. Besides, are you the one to say that? Have you been honest about the number of running drills and other exercises recently?"

"Ha, don't be ridiculous! I've never cheated. Don't make false accusations!"

"Alright, fine. Without evidence, it's just a matter of opinion. Even if you were cheating, Rokudo said he doesn't mind, so it's not my place to say anything as a non-student."

As Rio was getting tired of the conversation, Shiraha finished her shopping and looked at him.

Seizing the opportunity, Rio lifted the basket of goods.

"What's the cost?"

"The nails are at the back of the cart. I'll deliver them to your house later, so you can pay then."

"Shouldn't you take a deposit?"

"We're not strangers, so it's fine. Besides, I want to talk to Bald about the beast issue, so this is also a pretext."

"I see. I'll tell my father. Shiraha, let's go home."

Just as they turned to head home, a snowball mixed with mud hit Rio's back.

The peddler glared at Yudo but, hesitant to interfere in the villagers' affairs, remained silent and looked at Rio.

Rio lightly brushed off the snow and mud from his clothes and walked away without looking at the culprits, Yudo and his group.

Shiraha, walking beside him, looked worried.

"Are you okay?"

"A snowball won't hurt unless it has a rock in it. Just ignore it."

Oggan, the mage sent by the Rozu family, had told Yudo, who wanted to learn magic:

"Teaching magic to someone who grins and asks to be taught is a mistake. I have no intention of giving a weapon to a fool."

Thinking about this, Rio realized that, even though he was self-taught, he should keep this in mind, especially after seeing Yudo's behavior.