An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - CH 109

“Hello, everyone, busy going at it as usual, huh?” I said.

“Master,” Alexia said as she noticed me. “Good morning.”

“Yes, morning,” I replied.

It was a day after Lucy and Thyssel visited my house.

As usual, I went to the training ground of the Knights’ HQ.

No matter what happens at the Magician’s Academy, my usual work does not change. So, what I’ll do is the training of the Knights, which hasn’t changed from my everyday life.

There’s also my training. At this age, if you just eat and sleep, you will soon become out of shape. I’m a boring old man, so I want to at least care about how I look.

“Master, what happened to your sword?” Alexia asked, curious.

Yeah, I feel like that sword stuck out to every person I met. I wonder if that red sword stands out being wielded by an old man like me, after all?

“Oh, I went to get it sharpened a bit,” I said. “I’ll get it back the day after tomorrow.”

“I see, is that why?” Alexia said.

The question is answered without any problems. Well, it’s not the kind of topic that needs expounding upon.

It was shortly after sunrise, but some of the Knights were already enthusiastically wielding their wooden swords. I’m usually an early riser, but while I think it’s great to be coming earlier than me, it can be a little worrisome.

In particular, Alexia may also have her duties as Captain. I wonder when she rests.

I asked her about it before, but she just told me that it was okay because she didn’t overdo it, and the story was over. Well, I’m not the type to insist on pushing something, so if she says it’s okay, then it’s okay.

“But, you’re still early, huh?” I asked.

“It just happened to be so today,” Alexia said. “The escort detail is over and work has settled down.”

“I see,” I said. “I’m glad to hear that.”

As I thought before, I think it would be better for the world for people like Alexia, the Knight-Captain, and Lucy, the Head Magus of the Magic Division, to have a bit of free time on their hands. Lucy may have too much of it already, though.

If the heads of the nation’s prime fighting forces are not busy, that means things are peaceful.

On the other hand, if it is too peaceful, it may cause a decrease in skill and morale, but at least for the Knights of Rebello, it seems that there is no concern about those.

“By the way, Lucy and Thyssel came to my house yesterday,” I said.

Lucy had said she had talked to Alexia, so this should be no issue. I said it while we stretched out and warmed up in preparation for wielding our wooden swords.

“If Thyssel was with her, did it happen to involve the Magician’s Academy?” Alexia asked.

“Yes, yes,” I said. “I’ve been recruited to teach swordsmanship there. Didn’t Lucy tell you?”

Alexia’s reaction is a bit suspicious. It made me worried about how much Lucy had actually said to her.

“Umm… I heard that the Academy would like to borrow a teacher, but no more than that…” Alexia said.

“I see……”

That bitch didn’t even tell her the details, after all.

I suppose that’s just Lucy for you. I guess I was really the one who needed to do the explaining after all?

“No, the thing is, I’ve been asked to teach in the Sword Magic Department of the Magician’s Academy…” I said.

“Isn’t that good?” Alexia asked. “It would also help make you more famous, Master.”

In a nutshell, Alexia’s reaction is positive. But, I’m a bit less concerned about my reputation and more so that I’m going to be teaching somewhere where I have no business being. I’m probably the only one who even does care about it.

“Fame, huh?” I asked. “… I don’t really care much for that…”

“I think you just don’t bother too much in general, Master,” Alexia said. “I suppose that’s why you’re usually so happy.”

“Is that how it is…?” I asked.

“Yes. That’s it exactly,” Alexia said.

For sure, teaching at a historic and storied institution like the Magician’s Academy would be good for my reputation.

But, as I said, I don’t really care about that. I don’t want to get unnecessary attention.

“I’m certain there will be no issues so long as you don’t go to the Academy every day,” Alexia said.

“Oh, it’s kind of you to say that,” I said.

Even if this conversation was being taken so positively, I still don’t know how often I will go to the Academy.

Lucy said once a week should be good, and if that were true, the Knights of Rebelio wouldn’t have any particular problems with it. I can’t just quit this job and start over there.

And though the frequency is settled, I don’t know how long I’ll be teaching there in total. I hope Lucy will put that down somewhere in writing.

“Well then, let’s practice a bit then move to instruction,” I said.

Yeah, let’s put that matter to the side. Since I’ve come here, I’m a special instructor. I have to do my job properly.

“In that case, I’ll be happy to be your partner,” Alexia said with a smile.

“Oh, thanks,” I said.

With that, we go into our preparatory movements for combat.

At the edge of the training ground so we don’t interfere with everyone else, I close my eyes and focus.

“―― ……”

It’s not that difficult to do.

First of all, spiritual unification. And from here on out, I will prepare my mind and body for wielding the sword.

This routine has been going on since I was teaching swordsmanship at the dojo, but Alexia is also used to it. Even early in the morning, there are the shouts of the knights who are training and the sound of the wooden swords clashing against each other, though the people are sparsely gathered here.

The time used for this spiritual unification varies from day to day and it takes about five minutes at the shortest. I sometimes do it for about 30 minutes when I’m feeling uncomfortable or when I’m feeling off.

“… Hmm.”

It’s probably been about 10 minutes since I closed my eyes and started focusing.

I think today’s flow was from “as usual” to “a little better than usual.”

It’s quite difficult to keep your mind and body in prime form on a regular basis. Above all, if you do that every day, your spirit will be exhausted.

That’s fine if you’re in the middle of a life-threatening battle, but when it comes to daily training, the story changes a bit. The best balance is the feeling of going a bit above normal. At least I think so.

Under all circumstances, it is important to always be able to exert a certain level of power. Well, when it comes to actual battles, I don’t have time to unify my spirit.

“How about you, Alexia?” I said as I opened my eyes.

“… Everything is in order,” Alexia said as she did the same. “Not too bad, I say.”

“You’re understating yourself,” I said.

She’s far younger than me, but she’s dignified as a master swordsman, she’s already radiating that kind of atmosphere. This is probably the result of her extraordinary talent and the efforts that backed it up.

I feel that I have taken on a wonderful disciple. I’m just worried that my teachings aren’t going to destroy and stifle her talent.

“Okay, let’s get to it, shall we?” I said.

“Yes, Master,” Alexia said.

However, I don’t ask about it again. She has her personality and even if my bad premonition was correct, she wouldn’t say it outright.

So what I can do now is to do my best to fulfill the role I’ve been given, special instructor. It’s a position that came to me out of the blue, but I have to do it properly as long as I can do it even if it’s only for the sake of it.

For the time being, while watching everyone’s movements, do you mainly focus on basic combination strikes and continuous assaults?

This is not a dojo, we rarely do coordinated basic drills. The Knights are not my disciples.

Therefore, I will mainly teach practical movements. All of them belong to the Knights of Rebelio, so their foundations are wonderful. It feels like adding my experience and skills to them little by little.

The road of the swordsman is not traveled in a day.

Well, this is not limited to swords, but if you can overcome the road to mastery so easily, no one would have struggled with it. The accumulation of progress, day by day, is the most important thing.

With that in mind, when I was instructing the knights and sweating it out while practicing, the time passed quite quickly.

And then, after I noticed the sun had passed over us and started leaning westward, I said,

“… Okay, let’s end it here.”

“Yes,” Alexia said, “thank you for your hard work today.”

We’ve sweated it out a lot and it feels like we’re ending at a place where the fatigue is just about right.

It’s not good to work yourself to exhaustion every day. After all, proper load and proper rest are necessary for growth. 1

Even when I was originally teaching at the dojo, I didn’t use all day to teach. Well, there were many children at that time, so I didn’t have that kind of physical endurance or mental concentration.

“Sorry to bother you.”

“… Huh?”

And, while today’s work was done and I was wondering what to do next:

A rather domineering and young-sounding voice echoed in the training ground, one that didn’t quite fit in this place.

“… Is that you, Lucy?” I asked.

“Oh, here, over here,” Lucy said.

After entering my house without my permission yesterday, Lucy reappeared. And as soon as she noticed me, she smiled and waved.

“Ms. Lucy,” Alexia said as she wiped her sweat and came up first. “It’s rare to see you here, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s about the matter we talked about the other day,” Lucy replied.

She probably meant the Magician’s Academy. We discussed that yesterday so it must have been a whole day since that. She’s moving very fast.

“I want to borrow Beryl tomorrow,” Lucy said. Is that alright?”

“All of a sudden…” Alexia muttered.

Think about other people’s time a bit more. I’m not free, either.

“I don’t mind,” Alexia said.

And now there’s a quick approval while my thoughts were elsewhere. Is this alright? This old man thinks it looks a little ridiculous.

As usual, it feels like someone else has taken control of what should have been within my hands to control. This has been repeated many times since I came here to Baltrain, so I’m used to it.

“In that case: Beryl, can you come to the Magician’s Academy around 9 o’clock tomorrow?” Lucy said.

“That’s fine, but… it’s surprisingly late, isn’t it?” I asked.

And that is how my plans for tomorrow were decided.

However, it is quite laid-back to have it at 9 am. I had enough time to get up so that I could come to the Knights’ HQ and have a bit of light exercise.

“You’re all just early risers, aren’t you?” Lucy said.

“Hahaha, I think you’d feel better if you slept properly at night and woke up in the morning,” I said.

“I have my own rhythm,” Lucy said.

We make small talk.

Well, I don’t really intend to get into the rhythm of other people’s lives, either. As I said, Lucy has her life. She seems to stay up late for research.

“I’ll keep Thyss waiting in front of the Academy. See you soon,” Lucy said.

“Okay, got it,” I said.

Lucy swiftly left the training ground after she said everything she wanted to.

She really does change like the weather. She’s a bit of a nuisance to have around, or rather, in the aftermath, but I’ve never been bored once. All things considered, it seems to be a plus. Probably.

Well, there is nothing else to do but prepare for tomorrow. Just like when heading to the Knights’ HQ, will visit with a sword in hand.

Oh, I’ll let Miu know when I get home today. I don’t think she’ll be too happy about it, though.