The carriage rocked gently as we headed back toward Einzheil.
Since we had entered Amatsukuni through the checkpoint as usual, we had to return the same way. We traveled leisurely by carriage.
The weather was clear and pleasant, with no monsters appearing. I relaxed in the cargo area, pouring the “24th Generation” into a cup and sipping it while enjoying the scenery and the sight of everyone relaxing. The return journey was so comfortable and smooth that I found myself dozing off.
「Oh. There’s a cherry blossom petal in the cup…… How elegant.」
A single petal had gently fallen from somewhere and was floating on the surface of the sake in the elegant vermilion lacquered cup I had bought as a souvenir for myself in Amatsukuni. I smiled at the peaceful sight and continued sipping slowly.
「My lord, that cup looks good with your wafuku, but drinking sake in the middle of the day is the height of decadence.」
「Hmm～? Sorte, do you want some too?」
「I would like to join you, but I cannot. I have to take turns with Renge guarding the carriage later.」
「Ah…… Right. That is a shame.」
「Hmm. Shiro will join.」
「Shiro…… No alcohol for you. Have juice instead.」
「Muu…… Lord looks so happy drinking it……」
No matter how much more lenient the drinking laws in this world are compared to my original one, what is not allowed is not allowed.
As her master, I will properly manage it for Shiro’s growth.
「When you are a little more grown up, we will drink together.」
「Hmm. I am looking forward to it.」
The day I share drinks with Shiro…… I cannot wait.
When that time comes, we will toast with this sake.
Of course, I will need to prepare plenty of snacks.
「By the way…… I do not mind my lord enjoying sake, but…… that. Please do something about that……」
「That? Ah……」
「Haaah… wonderful… simply wonderful… A blade length of 2 shaku, 6 sun, 4 bu… a curvature of 9 bu… The temper line is a small irregular wave with delicate ‘legs’ and fine crystal clusters; the mist is deep… From the middle up, there are double and triple layers, even in the tip… The tang is original, in the shape of a pheasant’s thigh… It is… too beautiful…」
What Sorte was looking at when she said “that” was Shion. Ever since we left Amatsukuni, Shion had been staring at the blade with an entranced expression, holding it up to the light and continuously chanting technical terms I could not understand like some kind of incantation. It was a little scary, so I had not included her in the snacks for my drink.
「She’s f*cked.」
「Shiro. Where did you learn that kind of language……」
「Hmm? Nn～…… Probably from Makoto.」
「I see…… Teaching our Shiro such dirty words, what a shameless guy…… When we get back, he’s in for it……」
「……Isn’t my lord the cause of this?」
Sorte, that is not true at all.
As a proper adult member of society, I always make an effort to use polite and beautiful language.
「Master. Drinking sake is fine, but please drink some water too.」
「Hmm, thanks～」
Wendy gently took the cup from me, finished the remaining sake, and then poured water for me.
Nfu～…… My thoughts had become pleasantly loose and fuzzy. I was in the best state of drunkenness.
As expected of Wendy. She watches over me so well.
And the water Wendy created with magic really is delicious……
「Hmm～? Why is everyone looking at me all of a sudden! Ah, could it be that you are all interested in this blade? You cannot take your eyes off it? I see! Of course you cannot! It cannot be helped! Come come, you may look closer if you like～! This is Shion-chan’s new weapon～!」
Whoa, she suddenly slid closer to Shiro and pressed the side of the blade right up against Shiro’s cheek.
Shiro quickly tilted her head to dodge, but even so, it was way too close to actually see anything……
「I am fine. Not interested.」
「Do not be so reserved～! This weapon even has a regeneration function, so it is perfectly okay to handle it a little roughly! Look look, it is beautiful, is it not? So beautiful～! Shiro-san, instead of those knives, how about switching to a longer weapon? The difference in reach is very important, you know～!」
「……Annoying. If you keep bothering me……」
「What is it, what is it? I can even let you hold it as a special favor, you know? Test cutting is still no good since I have not tried it yet, but just holding it——」
「I will break it.」
「Please stop that!! Even if it regenerates, I would still be worried if it gets broken!!」
Shion quickly pulled away from Shiro while hugging the blade protectively to her chest.
Well…… It is only natural to be shocked if your brand-new blade gets broken.
But no matter how happy she is, Shion was being too pushy just now. It is her own fault.
「Haa…… Good grief. Children like Shiro-san simply cannot understand the charm of this blade…… Haaa…… It really is a wonderful blade…… In terms of combat strength, with this weapon Shion-chan’s power will undoubtedly double! She will be unmatched! Shion-chan is the strongest～! That is how it feels!」
「The strongest, huh……」
「What is with that mocking laugh, Sorte-san!? Just because you won last time, if you let your guard down I will trip you up right away! After all, I now have this new weapon!!」
「Well…… Yeah. I do not mind if you become stronger. It means more power to protect my lord, after all.」
「Uoh…… What a mature opinion…… Since we are at it, I would like to test the condition of my weapon, but……」
Ah, so her slightly annoying provocation earlier was because she wanted a mock battle.
Her personality is always a bit different from the others, so I did not notice.
「Hmm? Then shall Shiro be her opponent?」
「Eh…… Shiro-san will be my opponent……? If possible, I would have preferred one of the three who are a little stronger than me…… Ehhh…… Shiro-san, huh…… You will not break the blade, right? You will hold back, yes?」
「I will manage.」
「……That answer leaves me somewhat anxious, but…… Well, fine! M’lord! Please stop the carriage for a moment～!」
A mock battle with her new weapon, huh…… Well, it is a good time for a short break.
Aina, who was sitting on the coachman’s seat, turned around to check, so I nodded and had the carriage stopped.
「Ah～…… Just standing in front of Shiro-san makes my body tense up…… This is trauma…… O-Okay. I will pump myself up and raise my tension to cover it! Today is the day for an upset～! It will be fine! After all, I have my new weapon! Shion-chan is the strongest! I am a girl who can do it if I try! Uei ueeeeeei!」
「Hmm.」
Shion held the two Yin-Yang Blades, full of motivation and forced high spirits.
She was clearly pushing her tension up quite forcefully, but her practice swings were smooth and precise. That must come from her long experience in battle.
In contrast, Shiro did not even take a proper fighting stance and remained completely natural.
「Master. Would you like some dango?」
「Ah, that sounds good. With red bean paste?」
「Yes. It is kusa dango topped with anko.」
「Wendy, give me some too.」
「I will have some as well. Light on the anko for me.」
「Ah, then I want extra anko on mine!」
「Yes～. There is enough for everyone, so please wait a moment. I will warm up the tea as well.」
Not flower-viewing dango, but mock-battle-watching dango?
Now then, how will this turn out.
「Hmm, a new weapon, huh…… Sorte, what do you think?」
「What do I think…… A weapon alone cannot close the gap, right? If something like that could bridge it, I would go get a new weapon myself.」
「Yeah. Besides, Shiro basically cannot be hit in the first place, so changing weapons would not really change anything, would it?」
……In other words, if it does not hit, it does not matter.
Shion…… It seems the performance of the weapon is not the deciding factor in combat strength.
「Oh, looks like it is starting.」
「Here I go～!」
「Hmm.」
Shion lowered her stance while holding the two Yin-Yang Blades and advanced straight forward.
Shiro, on the other hand, did not even ready her knives and simply stood there, seemingly prepared to receive the attack.
Just as Shion entered her range…… she suddenly changed direction almost at a right angle to the right, leaped, and threw a knife in an attempt to catch Shiro off guard.
However, Shiro easily deflected the thrown knife and continued to track Shion’s erratic movements with the smallest possible motions, never letting her eyes leave her opponent.
……Shion’s movements had good variation in speed and rhythm, making them difficult to read, yet Shiro still followed them perfectly.
「Her movement itself is not bad at all.」
「Yeahssu. For an adventurer, that is definitely solid A-rank movementssu.」
「Indeed. Her balance is good too. She is fast, has many techniques, and if her head is sharp she can use a variety of weapons skillfully. She is quite the technical fighter.」
「Well, but…… When testing a new weapon, starting with a thrown knife feels a bit off, doesn’t it?」
「Is it not fine? That is part of Shion’s fighting style, right?」
Oh, Shion is getting high praise.
She is properly recognized.
I wonder if she can hear this.
「……」
「Hmm. Are you not coming?」
「Shiro-san…… Have you gotten stronger again in such a short time……?」
「Hmm～…… Well. Yeah.」
「Uuuu…… But if I can just graze you……!」
「Hmm……」
「Wha…… Did that hit just now!?」
「Yeah. It looked like it did.」
Shiro did not seem to have let her guard down, but the Yin-Yang Blade – Yin – appeared to have barely grazed her right leg, causing her movements to slow down slightly.
「……!」
「…… Haaaaaaaah!」
Sensing the opportunity, Shion unleashed a furious barrage of attacks.
Shiro continued to dodge with minimal movement while slightly favoring her right leg.
However, minimal movement meant she was dodging by the thinnest of margins. Even if there were no direct hits, constantly getting grazed did not seem like a good choice given the nature of the weapon.
Sure enough, Shion was smiling while Shiro’s expression had clouded over just a little.
Then, when Shion landed solid hits with the Yin-Yang Blade – Yin – on Shiro’s left arm, right arm, and right leg, stopping her movements, Shiro dropped her knives as if paralyzed.
This…… is an unexpected development.
「And more!」
Shion followed up on the now-immobile Shiro by swinging the Yin-Yang Blade – Yang –, successfully absorbing the spirit body.
Naturally, the absorbed power seemed to be returned to herself.
On the other hand, Shiro stood on only her left leg, her arms hanging limply as if all strength had left them.
「Fufufu! It is time to pay your dues, Shiro-san! Even if it was by luck, a win is a win! Yay～! I am going to keep saying I got one victory for the rest of my life!」
「……hmm. Preparation complete.」
「Hmmn～? Are you bluffing～? Making excuses is lame, you know!」
「You wanted me to hold back, right?」
「……Isn’t that a bit too condescending? It is true that I asked you to hold back, but right now I can only move my left leg…… There is no way I am going to lose from here!」
「Hmm. Say that after you win.」
「Fine…… I will make you cry!」
「Wait, wait, wait! The mock battle is still going!」
「Hmm.」
Shion’s triumphant expression froze for a moment.
Shiro, who had been standing on one leg with both arms hanging, suddenly moved.
With just her left leg as the axis, she spun like a top and closed the distance in an instant.
「Eh?」
Before Shion could react, Shiro’s left palm gently touched her forehead.
「……Done.」
「Wha……?」
The next moment, Shion’s body went completely limp and collapsed forward.
Shiro caught her before she hit the ground and gently laid her down.
「Hmm. Shion lost.」
「…………」
Everyone watching was silent for a few seconds.
「……As expected of Shiro.」
「Yeah.」
「Shiro is strong after all.」
「……I lost before I even knew what happened.」
Shion, who had been laid on the ground, muttered in a daze while staring at the sky.
Her new weapon lay beside her, still shining beautifully.
「Well then, shall we continue the journey?」
「Hmm.」
The mock battle ended with an unexpected result.
Shion’s excitement over her new weapon had been wonderful to see, but the gap in actual combat ability was still clear.
Still, it was a good break.
The carriage started moving again, swaying gently.
I took another sip of sake while watching Shion, who was still lying down and muttering 「I was so close……」 to herself.
The peaceful return journey continued.
Shion, looking slightly irritated, lowered her body just like at the start and charged straight forward.
However, she did not attack foolishly or drop her guard until the very end. Instead, she circled around to Shiro’s blind spot from behind, aiming to stop her remaining left leg completely.
「If I can completely stop her movement by paying attention to that left leg, then victory will be mi—— Ow!! Naa……!!!」
「……hmm. Shiro’s win.」
……What defended against the attack from behind was Shiro’s tail.
At some point her tail had picked up the dropped knife and almost simultaneously knocked both of Shion’s blades upward, breaking her stance.
Then, in an instant, Shiro vanished like smoke while still standing, only to reappear sitting on Shion’s shoulder. She locked Shion’s neck firmly with her left leg while pressing the knife against her back with her tail.
「……Did she just use a skill just nowssu?」
「No, it didn’t look like it…… But she only had one leg, right?」
「Way too fast. Haa…… The gap just got even wider……. Well, whatever. Fufu, it was interesting.」
「Uuu…… I surrender……」
「Hmm.」
Shiro, who seemed to have regained her mobility, lightly jumped down from Shion’s shoulder. She ran over to me with her arms cutely spread open and plopped herself down on my lap.
「Lord, Shiro got stronger.」
「Looks like it. I couldn’t see it at all.」
「Hmm. But I will get even stronger.」
「……Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.」
「Hmm.」
When I stroked Shiro’s head, she closed her eyes in pleasure and relaxed her mouth into a soft smile.
Getting stronger…… I am sure it is for my sake.
I am grateful…… but if possible, I wish for more peaceful times like this one.
While thinking that and continuing to watch Shiro’s contented face……
「Uwaaaaaaaaah! That’s so mean, Shiro-san! You should have let me have my moment! I finally got my new weapon, you know～!?」
「Hmm? You were able to test its functions, right?」
Ah…… So that is why she took Shion’s attacks.
While holding back, she also let Shion test the weapon’s effect, how it felt to swing, and so on…… Killing two birds with one stone.
And by making Shion think only her left leg was usable, she created the opening to use her tail as a surprise tactic…… Haha, that is impressively clever.
「That may be true, but…… I did understand very clearly how to use it in actual combat…… Still, even though it wasn’t a serious fight, to be so thoroughly held back and then lose so easily…… It is beyond frustrating, it is just sad…… My confidence is completely shattered……」
「I am not trying to comfort you, but when we fought her, she was holding back even more, you know…… We attacked three-on-one and she kept dodging while looking somewhere else, not even treating us as opponents. That happened all the time.」
「Hmm?」
「What do you mean ‘hmm?’……!」
「Well, the difference in strength was obvious.」
「That is exactly why you have to crawl your way up with sheer willpower! If you do that, you can become even stronger!」
「Uuu, that is just a guts theory…… I do not like getting all dirty and desperate…… I want to become stronger more easily!」
There is probably no such easy path……
If there were a way to become stronger without effort, I would want to take advantage of it too.
But since no such thing exists, the only way is to work hard steadily, even if it gets messy.
「It is fine. Everyone will become much stronger from now on. Shion is looking good too.」
「Do you think I have potential? That makes me happy, but…… Um…… Does that mean Shiro-san will train me?」
「Hmm. I will go with spartan training.」
「Hmm. Us too, right?」
「Of course.」
「I see. Then that is fine. Right now I cannot beat you…… but I will definitely catch up, so just wait.」
「Fufu. Yeah. At our current level, we cannot even serve as proper training partners for Shiro. We need to become strong enough to at least be decent opponents soon.」
「I am getting fired up～! We will become much stronger too～!」
The three of them seemed full of motivation and gave reliable smiles.
Shiro, while being healed on my lap, also looked a little happy.
「Spartan training…… Ah, Shion-chan is fine, thank you. Shion-chan does not want to become a pure combat specialist! Training where death feels close is absolutely no good! Please forget everything I said earlier about being frustrated or having my confidence shattered. I am sorry for speaking out of turn～!」
That was a very fast and beautiful dogeza, but Shiro simply said 『No』 and did not forgive her……
※※※
Aah…… As always, seeing my house after returning to Einzheil makes me feel so calm……
Once we get home, I will sleep plenty in my bed.
「Higu…… egu…… I don’t want to…… I don’t want to go home……」
「Welco…… Um…… Why is Shion-san crying?」
The first thing Mizera said when she came out to greet us was a question instead of “welcome back”. That was only natural.
After all, there was a girl in front of the house sniffling and saying she did not want to go home……
「Ah…… She has training with Shiro after this.」
「Hmm. We will start right away.」
「Nooooo waaaaayyyyy!」
Shion was dragged away by Shiro, sliding along the ground……
She seems to have potential, so do your best!
「I-I see…… I do not quite understand, but…… I am glad everyone returned safely. How was Amatsukuni?」
「It was wonderful. I have souvenirs and stories to tell, but just as I promised you, Mizera, please look forward to our date as well.」
「……Yes. I am looking forward to it. Then, once again…… Welcome home, milord.」
「Yeah. I am back, Mizera.」
Coming back to my own house after a long time really is calming……
Amatsukuni cuisine was great, but nothing beats Mizera and Wendy’s cooking.
Haaaa…… I really want to take it easy for a while, but……
「I heard Itsuki-san has returned! I am sorry, Itsuki-san! Could I have a moment of your time!?」
……Hayato.
Could you at least give me a little more time to relax?
I literally just got back home, you know…… Where did you even catch wind of this from……?
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