Sazaki was mostly focused on trying to drain the last drops of alcohol from the bottom of the bottle, but Carl was somehow fooled into thinking he was being praised.
“Tell me again why it is that you want to swing your sword so earnestly,” Sazaki said.
“What, again?”
“Come on, just say it.”
“All right. Because I have a younger brother and sister, so I want to be a reliable older brother. That’s enough, right? I’ve already told you many times.”
“Don’t forget that goal.”
“Of course I won’t. That’s why I need to start training under the Clovis School!”
“Well, do your best.”
Every time Carl met with Sazaki, Carl had been forced to tell him the reason he swung his sword. He spoke his piece again today, picturing the faces of his younger brother and sister. He was also eager to request to study under the Clovis School, one of the most famous swordsmanship schools in the world and an influential institution in this town.
“Anyway, looks like you haven’t neglected your running and your fundamentals training,” Sazaki said.
“I won’t get stronger by slacking off.”
“Hmm. If only all the youngsters in the world were as diligent as you.”
“Are you perhaps complimenting me?”
“Is that how it sounds to you?”
“You dumb geezer!”
“Gwah ha ha!”
Even though Sazaki had praised Carl for not neglecting the running, practice-swinging, and posture training assigned to him, the boy still had insults to hurl.
“Well, I guess I’ve got a little time for you today.”
“Really?! Then teach me a sure-kill move or something!”
“Don’t be silly. Just swinging your sword down is guaranteed to kill.”
“I-I see!”
The alley echoed with the noisy chatter of the strange teacher-student pair for a while.
“See you, geezer! Don’t kick the bucket yet!”
“I might die if I run out of booze.”
“Yeah, whatever!”
After a while, Carl left, still as boisterous as ever.
“Dear me. Did you just call him amazing?” As soon as Carl left, an old man in his sixties appeared from the shadows of the alley. Despite his age, he was muscular, and together with the sword at his waist, anyone could tell he was a seasoned veteran.
“Oh, you’re back? I mean, compared to how I was as a kid, he’s just an ant.”
“Ha ha. Holding him to your standards would be all kinds of unfair.” The respectable old man smiled awkwardly as he approached Sazaki, who’d completely finished his drink.
“He’d have a bright future with you. Let him train with someone suitable, and if the boy shows promise, take him to your dojo.”
“How about you, then?”
“Maybe if I had another twenty or so years in me. But with only ten years left, it’s not quite enough.”
“Very well. Your fellow pupils will probably complain, though.”
“I told you your place is good enough, so it’s all fine. Helps that your teachings are based on the Sazaki School, though.”
“I see. I suppose I’ll take on your final disciple, then.”
“Thanks.”
“On another note, someone apparently stole from a neighboring country’s enhancement drug stockpile. The perpetrator might be coming to this town soon too. Rumors say his name is Michael and he fights with a unique assassination-based sword style.”
“Huh? Those drugs after all this time? It’s been, what, twenty years?”
“I would say so.”
“Man, what a mess. I know you think the drugs are hidden somewhere, but I can’t tell you for sure either. Seems that the alchemists back then carefully erased all records, and the real thing hasn’t been seen since then.”
“Good grief. Please be careful just in case.”
“Sure. Oh yeah, do you have any good hooch?”
“Actually, we should be getting some in from the capital soon. I don’t drink much, so I’ll give you some as soon as it arrives.”
“Yippee! Thanks!”
“I’ll see you next time, teacher.”
“Right.”
No one was aware of this strange meeting.
A few days later, a flustered Carl ran around town.
“Hey, geezer, listen to thiiis!”
“Shadduuup!” Sazaki, who was lying down in an alley as usual, jumped to his feet at Carl’s shouting.
“Yesterday, someone from the Clovis School invited me to go visit their dojo!”
“Good for you. I had nothing left to teach you, so that’s honestly a relief.”
“Huh? Really?”
“I misspoke. I’m relieved because teaching you was honestly a pain,” Sazaki corrected himself, deliberately making his words sound horrible.
“Give me back what little bit of emotion I felt for you!” Carl shouted, his face crimson.
“Still, I’m happy for you.”
“R-Right!”
“So, did you already go for the visit?”
“I did! They also asked me if I’d like to join the school, so I’m going again tomorrow to do that!”
“Do your best, then. There are a lot of people there, so don’t get lost among them. Oh, and cooperate with the others,” Sazaki said, congratulating and encouraging the boy.
“Yeah!” Carl nodded.
Because the Clovis School was so well-known, its doors open to all, many people joined. However, only a handful of people made it to the top, so significant effort was necessary to make it there.
“And, well, you see... During my practice swings at the dojo, I was praised for having good muscles. Thank you.”
“Hmm. Well, you know, I can say at least that you have fully mastered just the fundamentals.”
“I’m not sure that counts as mastery, but thanks! See you later!”
“Bye.”
After thanking his strange teacher, Carl got embarrassed and left with a parting remark, but thankfully, he wasn’t the kind of boy who would be out and about some hours later wandering the night. At night, Lianard was just like any other town of alcohol, filled with bars in every corner, where the merriment never stopped.
But there were dangerous rumors in this bustling town. It was said that the enhancement drug that had been used for a time during the great war—but which was eventually wiped out of existence—still existed, and that an improved version was currently hidden somewhere. It was only a rumor in the end, but unfortunately, these kinds of rumors never disappeared, and if someone denied them, it was in people’s nature to become even more suspicious. And those who sought strength would sometimes stray from the right path and pursue heresy.
If the drug does exist, would it be in the lord’s castle?
Michael, who’d snuck into the city under cover of darkness, was one such person. He’d caused an uproar in a neighboring country searching for a similar enhancement drug, but that drug hadn’t been nearly up to his standards, so he’d come to Lianard, which had been a major production center for medicine during the great war.
I need to be careful of Clovis and his lot.
One of the reasons Michael believed that the enhancement drug was in Lianard was because a large Clovis School dojo was located there. However, he had things backward. The fact of the matter is that it was because of men like Michael that the school was so popular.
I don’t think I’d come up short against even the school’s best students, but when it comes to Clovis himself... Michael could judge himself objectively. The people at the top of the Clovis School were all freaks of nature, and Clovis himself was famous as one of the best in the world of martial arts. The corpses of all the monsters he’d cut down were proof of this. There was a good chance Michael wasn’t at his level, which was why he wanted to avoid coming into contact with the man, but...
Perhaps it was a prank from the gods, but something unbelievable happened. By sheer coincidence, Clovis was walking completely alone at night down a deserted alley to deliver an item, something he was typically highly unlikely to be doing, given his position. And then, by an even crazier coincidence, Michael and Clovis happened to come across each other in that same alley.