It seems that a guy named White Warrior was the strongest here. Just effortlessly overpowering him shows I could pass the skill test.
“I never expected to meet such a noble person like you here.”
Just by putting in a bit of effort, I’m already a teacher. Not bad at all. I snuck a glance at Sowol while receiving the polite greeting from the Precious Young Lady. Unlike the others, Sowol didn’t seem to look at me with admiration despite seeing my strength earlier.
But to be honest, I don’t really care about respect. We’re just gonna be cool, exchanging things and all that.
“It seems like you don’t have a place to stay yet… you could stay at our house for now.”
“Hahaha. Thank you.”
Free meals? Can’t say no to that! No need to waste time on nonsense anymore. I waved at Sowol, and after a moment’s hesitation—maybe because of the Precious Young Lady’s stare—she approached me with a pout.
“I know you don’t acknowledge me, but I doubt you’ll deny what’s been decided by your father.”
Even if she might become the ultimate villain in ten years, Sowol nodded, proving she isn’t oblivious to the Precious Young Lady’s watchful eye. I smiled at her and reached out my hand.
“Let’s do well from now on.”
Sowol took my hand and gave a slight bow before walking away. Pouting a few times at her, the Precious Young Lady bent down towards me.
“I might have spoiled her too much, so she can be a bit rude. I hope you can understand that, Teacher. It would be alright if she had a mother…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not shallow enough to get angry over that.”
“I’m truly relieved. With today being today… if it’s alright with you, would you like to have a drink?”
“I appreciate the offer, but I plan to start lessons in earnest tomorrow… Let’s save the drinks for another time.”
“Ahem. Understood. Then… someone! Guide this teacher to his place of stay!!”
The accommodation was quite nice. The spacious room was as big as an ordinary family house and didn’t lack anything. That just shows how much power the Eastern Trading Company holds.
Sitting on an expensive-looking chair, I thought about how to conduct the classes ahead. Should I start with a Sparta-style approach? Or ease into it gently?
While I was deep in thought, I heard someone knock on the door.
“It’s me.”
It was Sowol. She entered with a pout and sat down, staring at me.
“What are you staring at?”
“Uncle. You’re more amazing than I expected.”
“Uncle? You should call me Master.”
“But I don’t think I can acknowledge you yet.”
With that kind of statement, I’ve got nothing to rebut. But to be honest, respect doesn’t really phase me, so I can’t care less about it.
“Okay. If you just accept my teachings and grow, whether you treat me as your Master or not, it’s up to you.”
“I’m glad we understand each other. Then, I want to talk about the actual lessons… I’m not interested in boring tales like what the old masters did or how to live life.”
I figured as much.
“What I want to learn is how to fight.”
“Isn’t it unlikely for the next leader of the Eastern Trading Company to fight directly?”
“There are always enemies wanting to attack the company. Having the strength to protect myself from them is paramount. Plus…”
Sowol smirked while stroking her slender chin.
“I’m pretty, right?”
“……”
“I’m pretty, right?”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s important. Anyway, I’ve heard that there are plenty of creeps who would be ready to pounce as soon as they see something pretty. I need the strength to protect my body from those lowlifes.”
“Good point.”
She may look cute, but she’ll surely grow up beautiful. If I want her to be prepared for that, it’s crucial to have at least basic strength.
“Alright. Let’s focus on the physical strength part for now. The academic part is up to you. If you don’t handle that well, we’ll focus mainly on that.”
“Sounds good. So… how will you teach me?”
“I’m planning to focus on practical lessons. First, I’ll gauge your skills and then let’s get to work!”
“Skills, huh…”
As Sowol sat there, her hand moved. It was almost as fast as that guy called White Warrior. She was hiding a sharp needle in her sleeve, aiming it at me, and after I swatted it away, I grabbed her wrist and tossed her towards the bed.
“Ugh…!”
“Is this your full strength?”
“Unfortunately, my father only hired scholars to teach me.”
“Is that so? For someone like that, your hand movements sure are good! Did you learn from someone?”
“I practiced alone.”
Oh, really? For practicing alone, those movements are sharp and agile—definitely a lot of talent. Not bad at all.
“Great. This should be fun to teach. I’ll look forward to it from tomorrow.”
This is going to be a blast!
.
.
.
The next morning, before the sun rose, I headed to Sowol’s room. Upon opening the door, I saw her sound asleep.
“Yap.”
“Ugh?!”
After making a noise on purpose, I threw what I had in my hand. Hearing my presence, Sowol woke up in a hurry, and what I tossed landed right next to where she was lying.
“What are you doing?!”
Sowol sprang up, glaring at me with fiery eyes.
Glaring all you want, I’ll hardly even blink.
“I’m training you to develop your basic senses. From now on, I’ll wake you up like this every morning.”
“…Are you trying to kill me?”
“It’d be quite funny if you died from being hit by jerky.”
Only then did Sowol realize what had been thrown at her.
A red piece of dried meat.
Just as I said—jerky.
“Don’t think you can relax just because it’s jerky. It’ll hurt if it hits you. And that counts as breakfast. Follow me while you eat.”
Sowol grimaced but didn’t complain. She just chewed on the jerky while getting dressed. I went outside to wait for her, and as soon as she came out, I pulled her to the nearby mountains.
“Haah… Hah… Hah…”
Climbing the tall mountain must be tough because Sowol looked pretty exhausted. Still, she stayed silent, clearly determined to grow stronger.
Gasping, she finally made it to the peak alongside me and then collapsed onto the ground. After checking on her condition, I spoke.
“I plan to climb this mountain every morning.”
“…Every day?”
“You said you want to get stronger, right? Then basic stamina is essential. If you don’t get winded climbing this mountain, then the lesson’s over.”
“…That won’t be easy.”
“Oh, you thought getting stronger was gonna be easy? Well, look at that. Today’s just the first day.”
I tossed her a wooden sword I’d brought along.
While Sowol looked puzzled, I slowly moved my wooden sword through the air.
“One hundred downward strikes. One hundred horizontal strikes. One hundred thrusts. Once you finish that, we’ll move on to the next lesson.”
“…Isn’t that a bit simple?”
“Oh, really?”
With the wooden sword in hand, I swiftly executed a horizontal slash.
-Slash!!-
The wood I cut through split in two. Seeing this, Sowol shut her mouth, and I pointed to the severed wood.
“Try it. If you can manage this much, I’ll consider this lesson passed.”
“…You said one hundred, right?”
At that, Sowol started striking without further words.
Watching her, I turned around.
To conduct practical lessons, having materials is essential.
As I entered a suitable part of the forest, a hideous creature with a goblin’s face and green skin appeared.
Upon seeing me, it shrieked and lunged at me with an old dagger. I kicked it, knocking it out, and returned to the peak.
“Phew… What was that?”
“Teaching materials.”
I threw the goblin, now unconscious, to the ground.
Maybe it woke up from the impact? The goblin got up and started looking around, trembling upon seeing me.
“Kiieek! Kik!”
“Kiik! Ki! Kiieekk! Kik!”
“Kiieeekk….!!”
“…What did you just do?”
“The goblin language.”
“No, I mean. Why did its expression change? What’s up with it pointing a knife at me?”
I smiled at the puzzled Sowol.
“I told it to kill you if it wants to live.”
“Keeeeek!!”
Nothing’s stronger than a creature’s instinct to survive.
So stirred, the goblin charged at Sowol with a mix of hate and fear.
For her, who was already worn out from one hundred strikes of variable techniques, capturing a single goblin wouldn’t be easy.
Let alone capturing a goblin that’s desperate to attack her with everything it’s got.
But she must be able to handle this. It’s necessary for her to advance to the next lesson.
“Ugh?!”
Was it the sudden real combat? Sowol started barely avoiding the goblin’s frantic attacks.
“You can’t just keep dodging!”
“I… know!”
Amid the ongoing dodging, I saw the spark in her eyes. In that moment, she swung her wooden sword at the goblin’s neck, snapping it clean off.
“Oh….”
Now that’s some talent!
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