“We apologize for suddenly intruding unannounced.”
“N-No need to apologize! Please make yourselves at home!” The reason Clovis, who hadn’t even been nervous when he’d worked as a swordsmanship instructor in the royal palace, was frozen in place lay with the old man and woman bowing apologetically to him.
My teacher has a very limited number of friends!
Sazaki had visited Clovis uninvited and asked him to hand over various items he’d left with him because Sazaki was going on a journey with his friends. Although Sazaki looked like nothing but a homeless man at a glance, Clovis knew that he’d once been part of the great Hero’s party. That was why, when Sazaki introduced these two as his friends, their status flashed into Clovis’s mind.
“Hey, you’re treating them much differently than you treat me,” Sazaki teased the nervous Clovis.
“Think about it objectively. Do you think you need to be modest when dealing with a drunkard lying down in an alley with a bottle of alcohol in his hand?” Ferd immediately quipped.
“Well, that person understands the principles of alcohol, so he should be respected.”
“Maybe a drunk fool’s principles.”
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. He called my teacher a drunken fool! Not that he’s wrong. Clovis shuddered at Ferd’s behavior and thought he was being too unreserved.
“In any case, Eastern clothes, huh? I haven’t seen these in a while.” Ferd cut the small talk and looked at Sazaki’s outfit fondly with nostalgia.
“Right? I haven’t worn these in ages either.”
Sazaki was wearing a somewhat unique getup. His outfit consisted of a raincoat, gauntlets, close-fitting trousers, leggings, tabi socks, and straw sandals. Although these clothes were very unusual in this region, there was more interaction with the Eastern countries now compared to when Sazaki and the others were young, so while his clothes had once been considered eccentric, they were now just seen as foreign clothing that people came across occasionally. Sazaki had left all of these items in Clovis’s care, but they were all fully custom-made and boasted the highest defense against both physical and magical attacks. Together with the bewitched sword at his waist, they were probably valuable enough to construct an entire castle.
“Since we’re at a dojo anyway, how about we have a go, for old times’ sake?” Sazaki grinned and shook his sword while looking at Ferd.
I-I get to waaaaatch?! What?! Is it all right for me to be the only one seeing this?! If my fellow pupils learned about this, they’d have my head! Clovis instinctively covered his mouth with his hands to hold back a childlike squeal.
A match between the legendary Blademaster and another legendary figure—if Clovis’s guess was correct—was an event so major that powerful warriors across the entire world would kill to witness it. However, there was one problem with that.
“Everything around us would get blown to bits,” Ferd replied with exasperation.
“Right, I suppose so.”
“Oh, well...” Clovis certainly did not want his dojo to be destroyed and quickly regained his composure. He knew the absurd reach Sazaki’s sword had, so he was well aware that what Ferd had said was very much possible.
“Okay then. Thanks for everything, Clovis. If you learn anything more about that mysterious profane sword wielder, let me know through Lara,” Sazaki said.
“Very well. Although I’ve already informed the Rin Kingdom.”
“That’s probably gonna take some time.”
“What’s that about a profane sword wielder?” Ferd asked in confusion about what Sazaki had mentioned as he was saying his goodbyes.
“Two profane sword wielders attacked Clovis and me. Clovis took care of some well-known guy called Michael or whatever, but we have no idea who the one I killed was. Still, that’s common in the way of the sword. You might kill or get killed by a skilled guy you know nothing about.”
“Hmm.” Ferd didn’t suggest anything foolish like arresting and questioning that man. Since magic and special abilities existed, this wasn’t a world where you could simply disarm an opponent, capture them, and interrogate them, no matter how inferior they were. Since that mysterious man possessed several unknown abilities that could easily kill a person, a duel with him could only end with one party’s death.
“’Kay, so I’ll be spending the night at the same inn as them, so I’ll see you again in a few years. Take care of that greenhorn Carl for me,” Sazaki said.
“Yes, teacher.”
Sazaki picked up everything he’d left with Clovis and entrusted Carl—the boy he’d been looking after for the past few years—to Clovis, a man with supreme leadership skills. If possible, Sazaki would have liked to continue instructing Carl until the end, but when he took the time he had left into account, he would most definitely stop halfway, so he had no choice but to entrust the boy to a trusted disciple instead.
“I pray that the weather is kind on your journey.”
“You really get it, huh?” Sazaki grinned at the way Clovis didn’t wish him safe travels, but fair weather. This was going to be a journey with the old Hero, Saint, and Blademaster all together. It would be far from peaceful, but there was no one who could endanger their safety either. However, Ferd and Sazaki’s relationship didn’t need any formal titles; they were just two inseparable partners in crime.
“Hey, Ferd, how long has it been since we last rode in a carriage together? I can’t recall the last time.”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea.”
“I remember being blown away the first time we rode one...”
“I was so excited to see the horses up close.”
“Bwa ha ha! But before we could be excited, we had to get over our shock at those strange, four-legged creatures!”
“Ha ha. Indeed. When I learned how much they cost and the labor involved, I figured that only nobles could afford them.”
As they left town, Sazaki looked somewhere far into the distance, and Ferd nodded along as he reminisced. The two of them had been born in a rural area, so they’d never encountered horses, which were luxury animals. As such, the first time they ever saw one, they’d shuddered, wondering what kind of creature it was. And once they’d learned how much it cost to purchase and maintain one, they were further dumbfounded.
“And when Elrica—”
“Please stop it, honey.”
“Ha ha ha.”
The fond memories stimulated Ferd’s brain, but as he was about to mention what had happened the first time Elrica had seen a horse, she stopped him, her cheeks a faint red.
After all, her first words were “Is it tasty?”
No wonder she didn’t want that story mentioned. Ferd recalled a young Elrica closely observing a horse for the first time, then asking about its flavor. Naturally, now that she’d grown old, Elrica found her reaction back then to be a bit extreme, which was why she’d stopped Ferd from broaching the subject.
I suppose I won’t talk about the time Elrica mixed up sugar and salt either. Let’s call it a warrior’s mercy. As Sazaki looked at the playful couple, he decided to keep Elrica’s blunder to himself. Because of her circumstances, she had once been so sheltered that she had mistaken sugar for salt. Had Sazaki not noticed in time, dinner that night would have been an absolute nightmare. But that was well in the past. Now, she was an old woman who had successfully raised a child.
Man, this takes me back. Sazaki looked back on the past with fondness. Since there were other customers in the carriage, for once he was not drinking. During the Great Demon War, Sazaki and his friends would travel from place to place to fight, so their carriage was like a second home.