🍖🍖🍖
ONCE, I walked back to the castle through the forest after fighting a monster, idly wondering what to do, when I heard the sound of swords clashing. It was coming from an old fort. By this time, I had begun going a bit deeper into the forest in search of stronger monsters.
I masked my presence and surveyed the area. Inside the fort, I saw two heavily armed men in armor locked in a sword fight. There were three other men watching, which put the total number at five. The spectators were also armed. When I saw that they were giving shouts of encouragement and advice to the two fighters, I realized that they weren’t fighting to the death; they were just training. But they were fighting like it was a real battle. That was quite unusual.
This kind of true-to-life training just wasn’t done in Farune. Mainstream sword training consisted of methodically copying specific patterns of movements and positions. During bouts, it was expected that you’d stop your swing just before hitting your opponent, and if you actually hit them, you were showered with abuse. Maybe that was only natural after over two hundred years of continuous peace. The capital’s knights hardly ever actually fought, so they had started looking down on real combat with disdain. The word “chivalry” was in vogue, and noble, refined conduct was valued above everything else.
To put it bluntly, skill with a sword was seen as unnecessary and barbaric. Dueling with swords was banned, of course, and simulated combat was avoided, even in training. And the training I did with my master? That was out of the question, or rather, it was ethically unacceptable. If the authorities had found out what Cassandra had done, they would have taken her to prison. Not that there was any authority in the world that could capture her.
Putting that aside, the swordsmen in the fort were quite strong. They looked to have gone through their fair share of training. When I looked at them closely, I could see that the men fighting and the spectators all had several fresh wounds.
I can use them.
I just had to get them to let me join their practice, and then I could train against multiple people at once. Their strength was just right for what I needed.
So, I decided to make my presence known.
“Would you mind letting me join your training?” I asked with as friendly a voice as I could muster. It was the middle of the night, though, and they reacted with extreme caution when I stepped out from the forest. When I thought about it, it made perfect sense that they were on their guard. There was no way people gathering in a place like this in the dead of night were normal, respectable people, after all.
“Who the hell are you?” the man who looked like their leader asked. He had close-cropped blond hair and sharp, masculine features. He was probably the most skilled in the group.
“Well, I was walking in the forest when I heard a sound,” I said. “I came to have a look, and I saw you guys having a practical bout, which you hardly ever see these days, so I was thinking it’d be nice if you let me join you.”
“You were just walking in the forest? The Forest of Beasts? Cut the crap!” the man yelled.
The others joined in all at once. “Y’know, you look a lot like a spoiled little noble brat! Get lost if you don’t want us to kill you!”
“And wipe that stupid smile off your face. You’re just having a bit of fun, aren’t you? And looking down on us all the while!”
They don’t seem to be too fond of the nobility.
I did wish I had clothes that stood out a bit less, but unfortunately, there were no commoner clothes in the castle. As I wondered what to do next, the leader of the men spoke again.
“Well, why not? If you want to train with us, then we’ll let you.”
Ah, finally, someone reasonable.
“But, don’t come crying to us if you die, got it?” he said, then came at me with his sword.
Nevermind. He’s just another hotheaded tough guy.
I reflexively blocked his attack with my sword, then let off a succession of slashes. I could easily tell from the way he had swung his sword that he had been aiming to kill me. He was more skilled than the assassins that ambushed me on a daily basis, but not by much.
So, I tried a quick slash at his torso.
“Gah!” the man exclaimed, just barely blocking my attack with his sword. He was sent flying backwards in a clean arc, and he slammed against the ground, coughing up blood, but alive. He tried to stand up, but his body was jerking, and it wouldn’t move how he wanted.
Good job. If he’d been one of the assassins, that attack would have cut him cleanly in two.
Seeing that, the other men attacked me all at once, and I beat them down. None of them died, which showed me how tough they were. I knew it, they’re the perfect training partners.
Right away, I had them kneel while I told them what I planned to do. “Once every seven days, we’re going to spar. To be honest, I’m stronger than the five of you, so because you’ll be sparring against me, you’ll all get stronger too. Now that doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”
The men looked torn. After their leader, Ogma, the rest of them introduced themselves as Aaron, Barry, Bill, and Bruno, respectively.
“You’re strong enough to beat us, so what’s the point of training with us?” Ogma asked.
“I have my reasons,” I replied. “For example, I need to be able to fight against a large number of people at once.” I needed more training to counter the new tactics of the assassins with designs on my life. But that was hard to explain.
“What does a spoiled noble brat want with us, except to kill some time?!” Aaron shouted, glaring at me. He had a small build, and he maintained his rebellious attitude, despite the fact that he was being made to sit submissively on the ground. “It’s hard enough for us to get enough food to eat every day, y’know! I bet you’re eating steaks coated in gold for breakfast, or somethin’! C’mon, tell us what you ate tonight!”
“Um… I think tonight it was Redbone meat?” I replied. The monster that I had fought before coming across them had been my dinner.
“I knew it! You’re eating meat! The most we ever get is bread and some sou— Wait, did you just say Redbone meat?!” Aaron’s jaw dropped, and the other four looked equally shocked.
“Why the hell are you eating monster meat?” Ogma asked, looking suspicious. “And not only that, but Redbone? It’s impossible to take one of those down alone.”
“Long story short, I guess I’m eating them to get stronger.” I wasn’t exactly lying. The truth was that if I didn’t eat monsters every day, the next time I met with my master, she’d kill me. But that didn’t sound as cool, so I kept it a secret.
“Eating monster meat makes you stronger?” Ogma asked. He seemed most interested in the “stronger” part.
“It does. The more you eat the meat of strong monsters, the stronger you get. But the stronger the monster, the more poisonous its meat.”
“Monster meat is actually poisonous? I’ve heard rumors, but it’s actually true?”
“It is. But if you condition yourself by eating weaker monsters first, you eventually get used to it,” I explained. “Or at least, it gets to be not that bad.”
“Whoa, whoa, just hold on!” Aaron cut in, having regained the ability to speak. “That’s a filthy lie! Everyone knows you can’t eat monster meat because of the poison! You’re trying to trick us, aren’t you?!”
It appeared that he didn’t believe me. I was slightly offended that he was calling me a liar, so I decided to give a little demonstration. Actually, a Bloodbear happened to have come up to just behind where the men were sitting at that moment, probably on its way to attack us after sensing the presence of humans.
“All right, look behind you,” I said. They immediately saw the Bloodbear and tried to run away in a panic, but the Bloodbear growled and went after them before they could escape. I ran out in front of them, drew my sword, and lopped off the Bloodbear’s head with a flash of my blade. Monsters at that level were no longer any match for me.
“No way…” One of the men let slip his astonishment.
I swung my sword again and again, taking apart the Bloodbear and turning its body into a butchered pile of meat. I was used to this by now. Then, I took a decent-sized chunk of the Bloodbear meat and popped it into my mouth. It was raw, so it made squishing noises as I chewed it. I quickly swallowed. “Look, I just ate it, didn’t I?” I said.
They all nodded dutifully—including Aaron, of course.
“Do you guys want any?” I asked, taking a small piece and tossing it to them. “Just take a nibble for now. If you eat it all at once, you’ll probably die.”
They hesitated, then Ogma mustered up his resolve and tried it first. “Geh! Uuuugh…” He instantly spat out the small bite he had taken.
The others tried it too, but like Ogma, none of them could stomach it.
But at least I had demonstrated to them that monster meat was edible. I felt kind of proud.
V: Ogma