“Since we’ve all got our slings, it might be best for us to begin training when Maribel returns,” I said. “We should be ready to defend our cabin.”
It was now dinnertime. I rubbed my slightly sore arm—it probably hurt because of all the flinging I’d done today. We’d all already taken a bath, but it seemed the hot spring was ineffective at treating sore muscles. I wasn’t sure whether to feel happy about how rapid the onset of the pain had come—usually, I felt muscle pain the following day. Was this one of the blessings of being younger?
“Like when we practiced before killing that monster?” Diana asked.
She was sitting near the stove to keep warm as she sipped on some wine diluted with warm water. Ever since winter had arrived, it seemed that this was her favorite evening pastime.
I nodded back at her. “If we don’t train, we can’t move as we like during the real deal,” I reasoned. “I feel like I would’ve hesitated if we hadn’t practiced before the monster battle.”
“I agree. I think it’s important that we solidify each of our roles,” Helen said. She was chugging some hard liquor with Rike. “Everyone’s improved considerably with the blade. Diana, you’ve always been stronger than any decent soldier I’d met. Your movements are just a bit too clean, that’s all.”
Aided by the alcohol, Diana let her emotions show, and she beamed with elation.
“Sure, I’ve still got some stuff to teach you, but it might be worth decreasing our training time just a little to focus on defending the cabin,” Helen added.
“Should I join in too?” Rike asked. She downed her liquor and glanced at me.
Rike might have been the weakest fighter within our family, but she still wielded more than enough power to defend herself if needed. She was probably afraid that she was dragging everyone down, but not once had I seen her this way, even during our monster subjugation. I felt like her worries were completely unnecessary.
Truly, everyone else in our family was just too damn strong. This was especially true for Diana and Anne. Despite their ranks, the sheer might that they wielded was absolutely insane from an outsider’s perspective. And thanks to Helen teaching them, the ladies had only grown stronger.
Helen placed her hands behind her head. “Well, if we expect the worst, you might have to join in a little. But maybe once a week—or the days we go out to the city. That should be more than enough.”
“Yeah, I can do that,” Rike said, breathing a small sigh of relief.
First and foremost, Rike was here to be a blacksmith. It didn’t make sense for her to gain too much power, and I was in complete agreement with the pacing that Helen had just suggested. Though, when it comes to strength, Rike’s already strong enough, probably. The master of the forest gave us her seal of approval, after all.
“We should hash out the details at a later date,” I said. “I don’t think we’ll be up against anyone anytime soon.”
“Yeah.” Helen nodded. She downed her cup and went to the kitchen to rinse it out, signaling that she was done for the night.
Everyone usually stayed up after I retired to my room, but today, we were all exhausted from making and practicing with our slings. When Helen called it a night, we all decided to hit the hay.
⌗⌗⌗
One evening a few days later, I realized that it would soon be time to head to Camilo’s. I decided to check the wares we had for the order, just in case.
As I was cleaning up the forge, the door opened with a loud bang.
“Eizo!” Samya shouted. “Arashi’s here!”
I usually received news from Camilo regularly, like a newspaper service, and learned about the current state of the kingdom. I’d been told that things were rather peaceful, and there was nothing amiss. Samya was concerned because the letters were often delivered early in the morning—usually when I returned from my water jug runs. However, this one had unexpectedly come in the evening. Did this letter contain some sort of emergency? I quickly cleaned up my things and rushed out the door that Samya had kept open.
Usually, there was a small tube containing a letter tied around Arashi’s foot, but today, there was an additional package. It was fairly large, and Diana had decided to relieve Arashi of the weight as soon as possible. The package was quickly offered to me, and when I took it, I found that it was rather hefty. If a bird had been entrusted with this item, it would have needed to be a fairly large bird of prey. I guess Arashi had no trouble—wyverns really are in a class of their own.
“Thanks for your hard work,” I said.
I petted Arashi’s head, and she cried out. Is she happy? She soon began to play around with Hayate, and I knew that I’d never have an answer.
“All right,” I said.
I removed the cloth around the fairly hefty item. I was a bit scared, but it felt like I was unwrapping a present, and everyone seemed a bit eager. When I fully undid the cloth, a small knife was revealed.
“This must be...” I murmured.
Rike, who was gazing on excitedly, immediately looked astonished. I was equally shocked as I gazed at the knife—it was awfully familiar. And of course it was; I’d seen this exact shape many times before. It was the spitting image of the knives that we’d produced in our forge.