“Can you stop trying to find faults in me?” Allusia said. “I properly fulfill my professional duties.”
“Hmph. I wonder about that. You can’t see any of the world when you’re holed up in the capital all the time, you know?”
Their conversation kept escalating, though they ignored me completely. It seemed this Lysandra woman didn’t see Allusia—or rather, the order itself—in a good light. I didn’t know why that was, but I wanted a little sympathy for being stuck between what were probably two of the strongest swordswomen in the world. The pressure I felt coming off them was nothing to laugh at.
“We don’t exactly have time to lounge around here. Master, let’s go,” Allusia said. She didn’t seem keen on putting up with this and likely wanted to bring the conversation to an early end.
“S-Sure,” I replied. I didn’t really enjoy being glared at by a black rank adventurer anyway, so I obediently went along with her.
“Hmph, it looks like you pulled this man off the streets. Why’re you calling him your mas...ter?”
For the first time since she’d shown up, Lysandra’s eyes met mine. The sharp glare she’d been directing our way rapidly turned to one of bewilderment and confusion.
Huh? What? Had I done something? I was pretty sure I hadn’t. I was just here to buy baked goods. There was no reason to make any kind of face at me.
“Huh? Um... Master...Beryl...?”
“What?”
Hang on. I wasn’t acquainted with any handsome hunks who happened to have breasts.
In the spur of the moment, I stammered out, “Y-You must be mistaken...” I knew immediately that it hadn’t been the right thing to say—it was pretty rude to accuse someone of that when they saw your face and called you by name.
“N-No! There’s no way I’d mistake you for someone else!” Lysandra insisted, running up to me.
Whoa. Crap. I seriously had no memory of her. Since she was calling me “Master,” she must have studied under someone, but I didn’t remember ever teaching swordsmanship to such a lively-looking woman. She was probably, no, definitely mistaken. Beryl was a pretty common name, so she must’ve been thinking of someone else.
More importantly, the pressure of being so close to the highest rank of adventurer was overwhelming. Her face drew close. It felt like my knees were going to buckle.
“Sorry, I don’t recall anyone like you,” I said.
“N-No way... You don’t remember me...?” Lysandra asked, her bewildered eyes now colored with a hint of despair.
Not that there was anything I could do when she looked at me like that—I simply had no memory of her.
“It’s been twenty years already... But still...!” Lysandra mumbled, slumping her shoulders.
Twenty years... That was pretty long ago. It was just around the time I’d risen to the position of instructor at the dojo, so someone else must’ve also taught her. After all, at that time, I’d been so desperate to do well at my new teaching position.
As I thought back on such things, Lysandra grabbed my shoulders firmly.
“Master, it’s me,” she said, her voice quiet but her expression frantic. “It’s Selna Lysandra. Do you remember picking up a shabby child long ago and teaching her how to use a sword?”
“Hmm?”
A shabby child...? Selna?
“Ah.”
Was she... Could she be...?
It had, in fact, happened just around twenty years ago. One day, when I’d been patrolling around the village, I’d discovered a small child covered in wounds, dragging her leg as she struggled toward the village. There’d been no adults in sight. Judging that this was no trivial matter, I’d taken her in, but with no guardians to contact, I’d ended up raising her for a while.
Our dojo had trained quite a lot of pupils during my dad’s age, so we’d had some leeway with our expenses. It hadn’t been a problem for us to raise a child. Plus, it wasn’t like we could’ve just abandoned her, and seeing how I didn’t have any kids of my own, my parents had fawned over her quite a lot.
I figured that she’d been the daughter of some merchant or traveler. The wounds she’d suffered hadn’t been from a squabble or anything—they’d come from monsters or wild beasts. In this age, while such a thing wasn’t exactly commonplace, it wasn’t all that rare either—especially out in the country.
The girl had been in really low spirits, so as a change of pace, I’d had her join the kids at the dojo to take lessons. She’d been so docile. When I’d asked her name, the only thing she’d said in return was “Selna.”
Still, she’d taken an interest in the sword and had faithfully devoted herself to my instruction. I hadn’t seriously intended to train her, but having lost her parents, she’d had nothing else to throw herself into. The sight of her tackling something so passionately, as if she’d been trying to shake off the sorrows of her past, had brought a tear to my eye.
She’d spent about three years in my care. During a trip to the capital, my dad had talked to an organization that handled such cases. For a while, after she left the dojo, I’d prayed that she had gotten adopted and would live a good life.
All of this had happened a good while before Allusia had started attending our dojo.
“Are you maybe...that Selna?” I asked.
“Yes! The same Selna you picked up and taught how to use a sword!” she replied, her expression brightening in an instant.
Seriously? There was no telling how one thing could lead to another in this world, huh?
“Man, I didn’t recognize you at all,” I said. “I’ve met a few of my pupils since coming here, including Allusia, but you’re totally beyond recognition.”
I figured she’d be living a modest life in the capital. Never had I imagined that she might become an adventurer who traveled all over the world. It was a big shock for this old man. What’s more, as a child, she’d been such a docile girl. It felt like admiring flowers in the garden would’ve suited her better than fighting, so it was beyond surprising that she’d ended up looking like a ferocious lion.
“I wanted to visit Beaden and report back to you, but once I started working as an adventurer, I was never blessed with the opportunity...” Selna said. “I never thought we’d be reunited like this.”
“Don’t let it bother you,” I said. “I’m just glad to see you’re doing well.”
The pressure Selna exuded remained as strong as ever, but knowing who she was bolstered my emotions enough to handle it. Incidentally, I was hoping she would let go of my shoulders already.
“At any rate, why are you in Baltrain, Master?” Selna asked.
“Aah, about—”
“Lysandra,” Allusia cut in. “Starting today, Master Beryl has been appointed as a special instructor for the Liberion Order. He is scheduled to help with the order’s training. As such, unhand him immediately.”
Allusia! Why do you keep cutting people off and answering for them?! Well, her explanation was right, so that part was fine, but still...
✦ ✦ ✦
“Master Beryl...training the Liberion Order...?”
“That’s right. I even have an appointment letter with the royal seal,” Allusia said.
Ow! Ow! Ow! Selna tightened her grip on my shoulders. Her strength was abnormal, living up to her reputation as a black rank adventurer. I really wanted her to let go.
Mostly because of Selna, the souvenir shop had suddenly been enveloped in a dangerous atmosphere. My sympathies went to the shopkeeper. It wasn’t really my fault or anything, but I just felt like I needed to apologize.
Selna glanced at the letter. “Tch. The royal seal? Looks like it isn’t fake, I guess.”
“What could I accomplish by lying about this?”
“S-Selna, can you let go?” I requested.
At this rate, things were going to get pretty bad...in all sorts of ways. I mean, for the last little while, Selna had been extremely close to me. She had the looks of an androgynous beauty, but from the point of view of my mental state, I was a small animal being glared at by a ferocious monster.
“A-Aah. Forgive me, Master. I wasn’t thinking,” Selna said, finally releasing me.
Well, I suppose reuniting with someone after so many years, only for them not to remember you, would be a pretty big shock. Still, to put it bluntly, she’d changed too much. It would’ve been stranger if I’d been able to figure out who she was at a glance.
“Master, now that you’re in the capital, please pay a visit to the adventurer’s guild too,” Selna said. “I’ll be able to accommodate you in all sorts of ways. If you’d like, I can even guide you there.”
Allusia shook her head. “No. He’ll be going around town with me after this, so there’s no space for you to butt in, Lysandra.”
“What? You’ve already appointed him as that special instructor or whatever you call it. You’ll be able to see him plenty after today. I, on the other hand, just reconnected with him after so many years, so the role of his escort should fall to me.”
“No. It’s been a while since he’s been to the capital, so he doesn’t have any knowledge of the area. It only makes sense for the order, who run their operations from the capital, to be the ones to guide him.”
For some reason, Allusia and Selna were now rapidly arguing without pausing to breathe.
Someone save me.