Chapter 36

With his body enhancement at its maximum, Rio swung his sword without slowing down much.

He cut through the core of the pillar of light that Shira had prepared, then reversed his wrist to slash another pillar of light diagonally.

He slipped past the side of the pillar of light at high speed with a sliding step.

In parallel with Shira's magic training, Rio's movements with a real sword had become more practical for real combat.

In a village with no playgrounds in the borderlands, there were often idle knights who would train with him out of boredom, allowing Rio to gain more experience.

Effective weight shifting, how to apply the blade, and how to swing it. What to aim for and when to be targeted in any posture.

The knights, being elite due to their talent and continuous effort, gave specific advice and were the perfect training partners.

While learning combat techniques and group movements from the knights, Rio also learned how to fight and escape from monsters from adventurers like Furlau, who were sent by the guild and Karil.

Shira also learned magic from Oggen. Although Rio lacked talent and could hardly use magic, he still gained knowledge.

While Rio was steadily growing stronger, Shira's growth was even more remarkable.

Incorporating the magic he learned from Oggen into his swordsmanship, Shira had developed his own style: running around while casting spells from behind Rio and using a sword when approached.

Although Oggen, who wanted Shira to succeed him, was hesitant, Shira was determined not to leave Rio.

Despite this, Oggen seemed to have relented, teaching Shira magic to prevent her talent from being wasted.

As he cut through the last pillar of light, Rio finally stopped.

"My arm hurts..."

The core of the pillar of light that Shira created was quite hard. Even with body enhancement, he had to run with momentum and properly position the blade, or it would get stuck.

That's why it was good training, but his arm would go numb after multiple consecutive slashes.

"Even monkeys were softer..."

He sheathed his sword and massaged the muscles in his dominant arm.

When he returned to the edge of the square where Shira was, she was looking at the back mountain.

"Is something wrong?"

"...Dad and the others are late."

"They said they would investigate deep into the mountains. They should be back by tomorrow."

It had been ten days since Oggen arrived in the village.

On the third day of Oggen's arrival, a mountain hunt was conducted by the villagers and adventurers, and the knights led by Oggen set up a simple camp on the other side of the mountain to exterminate the monkeys that had fled.

However, since there were no signs of young monkeys among those exterminated, Oggen decided to continue the investigation, believing there was another group.

Three days ago, those familiar with the terrain, such as Bald and Remini's father, went out to investigate and exterminate.

"Don't worry, Oggen and the knights are with them. They won't fall behind the monkeys."

The soil replacement work in the fields was already finished, and the village could function without the strong men like Bald.

Since the monkeys were exterminated during the mountain hunt, entering the mountains around the village was now permitted. Although hunting was discouraged due to the damage caused by the monkeys, the income from mountain vegetables made a significant difference.

Moreover, due to Rasmor Rosiz's recommendation, the knights were encouraged to shop actively, which brought money to the village, creating a rare economic boom in the borderlands.

Seeing currency regularly in a village where barter was the norm was something Rio never expected.

"When Dad and the others come back, this trouble will finally be over, right?"

If this trouble, which had plagued them for nearly half a year, ended, it would be possible to start activities to buy Shira a sword.

Thinking about doing some piecework at home, Rio looked towards his house.

He saw his mother walking towards them with Karil.

"Rio, Shira, I have a favor to ask."

When his mother reached them, she pointed at Karil, who looked annoyed.

"I want you to pick some Flaug fruits with Karil. They should be ripe by now, and I want to make rat poison. For Karil too."

"Ah, it must be hard for Karil to make it with only one arm."

"I can make it, but when I bring it, I can't deal with beasts with just one arm, so they worry."

"Since you're being taken care of by Rio, you should rely on him more in situations like this."

"That's what your mother says."

Rio looked at Shira.

"Are you not too tired from training?"

"...I'm fine."

"Then let's go."

"Bring Karil back too. Even if it's late, I'll treat you to lunch."

Amused by Karil's troubled expression, Rio smiled.

The three of them entered the mountains to pick the Flaug fruits they had found before.

While heading to the known location, cutting through the underbrush, Rio talked to Karil.

"How do you usually eat? Can you cook?"

"I use a tong-like tool to fix ingredients on the cutting board. It's hard to fillet fish, though."

"Really? I thought you just drank and ate snacks to fill your stomach."

"Well, there are days like that."

"When was the last time you cooked?"

"It was at the beginning of winter, I think."

"...No wonder your mother is worried."

Shrugging, Karil replied to Rio's exasperation.

"Living alone, drinking what you like, eating what you like, and sleeping, what's wrong with that? You'll understand soon enough."

"Well, I can't say I don't understand."

"...I won't let you live alone."

Meeting Shira's eyes, Rio looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll follow you."

"No, no, I will definitely live alone. I won't let you cross the threshold of my house!"

"I'll come in through the window."

"That's not what I mean!?"

Karil burst out laughing at the exchange between Rio and Shira, patting Rio on the back.

"You can't escape from Shira. If you come to my place, I'll let you stay for a night."

"I don't need that kind of consideration. I want to live without it—what?"

Suddenly, the surroundings seemed to distort, and Rio instinctively grabbed Shira's arm, hiding behind a tree trunk. Karil, who noticed the anomaly almost as quickly as Rio, drew his sword and crouched behind the trunk.

Shira frowned and looked around.

"...Defensive magic."

"Defensive magic? Is it set up here?"

"...Probably. But it's a bit different from defensive magic, maybe?"

Shira seemed uncertain, tilting her head.

Rio looked at Karil, who was next to the tree trunk.

Karil was more serious than ever, paying close attention to the surroundings.

"Karil, do you know something?"

Nodding slightly at Rio's question, Karil replied.

"It's a concealment spell. Sometimes used by the leader of a group of beasts. It's called a hidden village among adventurers—where I lost my right arm was a hidden village."