Chapter 76 – Gap.

“The knights of Paciphenia are truly amazing!”
“Is it that great?”

The remaining time after the knights’ sparring was over. Medea naturally approached Usher and Belka and burst into admiration. Actually, Usher couldn’t really feel it.

“You may not know Mr. Usher from the same place, but he’s really great!”

According to her, the one time she dealt with Donar and others was among the elite of the knights who guarded the territory, she said. However, to win all of them without missing a single one seems to mean that it is not really a normal skill.

“As expected, it was not a lie to say that even a dragon can be dealt with!”

Usher looked at Medea’s fuss, still in admiration, and thought she should correct her misunderstanding.

“I don’t care about anything else, but Belka and I aren’t particularly from Paciphenia.”

Then, Medea looked at him with surprised rabbit eyes.

“Yes? Then where…”
“It’s hard to pinpoint where it was, it was a corner of the countryside surrounded by huge forests on all sides.”

Usher was a misunderstanding on her own, and she wondered if she had to say this, but she said it seemed cheating to let it go even if she knew. Wouldn’t he ignore her if he knew that she came from an unassuming country? She was worried, but she thought that if the other person ignored it, it would be better to end the relationship as it is.

“The countryside surrounded by forests?”

Unsurprisingly, it was when she felt disappointment at the hardening look on her face.

“When you say forest, you mean a place with a lot of trees, right?”
“Uh, huh? By the way.”

She answered puzzledly at a reaction that was somewhat different from what she had expected.

“You’re not lying, are there really places like that?!”
“Because it is.”

He couldn’t figure out why Medea was doing this. A forest is just a forest, what else? It was all the more so because it was a rural area where there was nothing special about it.

“Mr. Belka! Is Mr. Usher really true?”
“Huh.”

She couldn’t believe his words and was surprised to hear her girl’s answer.

“Really, it’s amazing that a place like that still exists today.”
“What? The forest?”

Usher couldn’t understand Mediah’s words. It was only a forest. He took the forest for granted and lived by helping the grown-ups who cut trees, and trees were overflowing there. Among them, the only one I thought was special was the zelkova tree that Belka met. But now it’s gone

“I guess Mr. Usher is ignorant because he lived in a place like that.”
“Ah! Seriously! What is that!”
“Look at this.”
“What!?”

She laughs when she gets angry at Mediah’s words that seem to make fun of him when he’s crooked.

“Anyway, the forest is a much rarer and rarer place than Mr. Usher thinks?”

The story she told about the forest was something Usher had never heard before. The dense forest made up of numerous trees is like a paradise that has been passed down from legends and ancient times.

“Paradise…?”

When Usher said Mediah’s paradise, he made a strange expression. If she calls a place like that a paradise, I guess you could call it a paradise. Seeing his expression, Medea burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! I guess I wasn’t lying! I guess that wasn’t a very nice place either?”
“It was a nice place. I could have lived there all my life had it not been for any problems.”

Still, Usher could be confident that there would not have been a better place to live as long as it was a huge forest overflowing with life. The smell of green grass, the scent of ripe fruits, the sound of leaves shaking in the wind, and the earthy smell that permeates the floor on a rainy day are scents too longing to shake off.

“Is it a problem?”

But at the same time as Medea’s question, a nightmare-like scene comes to mind. From Mascapir’s tangled skin color to Marie’s sister who was sacrificed in place of the villagers’ child, Lily who lived as a tool to satisfy the villagers’ desires, and the terrible traditions of the villagers. There were so many other things on my mind that I felt like throwing up. But it was too much to tell her all about it. Because I didn’t even want to put them in my mouth.

“Monsters attacked the village.”
“…So with the Paciphenia?”

Seeing Medea make a mistake, saddened by Usher’s words, made him bitter in her mouth. You don’t have to regret that such a village was destroyed. When there was so much silence In the distance, he could see Donar calling out to him and waving his hand. There was still time before lunch, so it seemed like he was going to train. Usher stood up as if he had been waiting.

“Then I’ll go to training.”

When they arrived, they saw only Donnar and Logi. Maybe he will stick with this number for the duration of his training? Thinking about it, I grabbed the sword Donar gave me.

“First of all, the most important thing for you is to memorize your posture.”
“Are you sleeping?”

Donnar gives Logi the sword and continues the conversation.

“Yes, posture. The basics of swordsmanship all start with posture.”

Originally, he planned to train his physical strength first, but he said that his physical strength doesn’t seem to be a problem and will naturally increase as he trains.

“Now, Rogi, I’ll match you, so let’s have a sparring match with me. I’ll show you at a slower tempo than I did with the knights. Watch how Usher does it.”

Rogi and Donnar raise their swords and aim at each other. It was the same posture that seemed to hold a sword in one’s arms. Doesn’t the way they point their swords at each other change even if it’s just practice? It’s still a dangerous look. Then the two swords collide. However, unlike the previous sparring with the knight, the movement seemed noticeably slow. Still, because of the difference in size, I thought Donar would win soon, but Rogi lasted longer than I thought.

Even though it was a bladeless sword, seeing him holding the blade with his hand and holding on to Donar’s sword made me drool. He knew that it was because Donard had taken care of it, but Usher, who still wanted Rogi to lose coolly, was dissatisfied. Anyway, the sparring ended with Donar grabbing Logi’s sword and taking it away.

“Well, this time it was clear, right? How was it?”
“It doesn’t look like you’re just swinging a sword.”
“And again.”
“Um…, I think I’m using my body more than I thought.”

He asked Usher if he felt anything more, but all Usher felt now were those two things.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if I taught you posture first?”

Then Donar scratched his head in wonder. Usher wondered if he could really trust what he was teaching him.

“I can’t help it. Logi will show you how to do it, so follow it.”

He was dissatisfied with why he had to follow him, but Usher followed him without muttering. It was hard to understand and there was a posture where the sword was lowered, but all the postures Logi took were the same as Usher’s when he fought him.

“Rather than swinging a sword, changing from stance to stance allows you to defend and attack the opponent’s attack at the same time. If you swing it gracefully, it’s no different from using a stick.”

Donar said that even if you only knew the principles of swordsmanship and how to handle it, you would be able to defeat the street gangsters.

“For example, like the sparring between you and Rogi yesterday.

So you’re saying that he’s no different from a barbershop? Usher’s face contorted. He felt bad, but since he had never learned how to fight, he couldn’t help it.

“Especially, the guy who swings his sword and strikes the opponent and then pulls it back and swings it wildly is a guy who has really been through a street fight. Did you feel yesterday how disadvantageous that is?”

It was. He swung his sword and then, realizing it was blocked, tried to pull it out right away, but how embarrassed he was by Logi’s sword, which immediately chased after him as if it were sticking to his. I was dumbfounded by the sword that stuck to him as if it were glued together, spinning around his sword and striking him with the blade.

“The more you wield the sword, the more gaps there are, and you are bound to be swung by the weight of the sword. In other words, it is like giving up your life to the enemy.”

The more his words continued, the more he realized how stupid he had been in the sparring with Rogi yesterday.

“Especially with a long sword. It can’t even cut through armor made by humans, let alone the upper skin of monsters. It’s just a story in a fairy tale to cut solid iron armor with an iron sword.”
“Ha, then why are you writing it?”
“Look closely at the characteristics of the long sword. It has a sharp and thin tip, right?”
“…Is that so?”

Although it was a sword, the characteristics of the sword remained the same.

“The longsword takes advantage of that point to aim at the cracks in the upper part of the monster, between the helmets of the opponent, the gaps in the armor, and the seams.”

It seems that this was the reason why Donnar won the match today by aiming for an opening in the opponent’s pitch.

“Or like this. Lift it upside down and strike with the tip of the hilt, permal or cross guard.”

Usher was shocked to see Donnar gripping the sword upside down and grabbing the blade.

“But wouldn’t that cut your hand?”

The one I’m holding right now is a sword, but I’m going to use a real sword in real combat, so is it okay to do something like that with a real sword?

“It’s okay if you don’t have any tips, but if you wear leather gloves, there’s no problem. In fact, it’s more efficient to use a mace in this situation, but it’s effective for a surprise attack.”

He grabbed the sword and swung it around as if he were making fun of Usher.

“And when I fought Logi earlier. You saw Logi holding the sword with one hand.”
“Isn’t it just because you’re tired?”
“That is also a clear skill. Rather, if you fight for power, you can push the opponent’s sword away much more easily than simply holding the hilt?”

Come to think of it, Rogi wasn’t pushed back by Donnar in a fight of strength. Oddly enough.

“Swordsmanship isn’t just a battle of strength. Rather, even if strength is small, it’s very small. The important thing is skill, proficiency, and sense.”

He soon stopped Logi from posing.

“The finishing touches are sparring. It may not be enough yet, but you want to use what you learned today?”
“Wait a minute! Already?”
“I also want to teach them finely if possible. Swordsmanship requires practical experience and tips, so I can’t help it.”

When Donnar told him to do well because he would know the tricks even if he didn’t want to be beaten, Usher trembled and sparred with Rogi. The result, of course, was Usher’s defeat. Still, it was unreasonable for Usher, who had just started learning swordsmanship, to win against Logi, who had lasted longer than yesterday, but who must have learned swordsmanship since childhood.

“Really, that’s downright annoying.”

I knew. The fact that Donnar was taking care of Usher for a long time just by not dealing with him directly. But he was annoyed by the situation to the point where he thought it would be better. It was too humiliating to be hurt by someone who hurt a precious girl, even if it hurt less. It was when Usher lay down and gnashed her teeth, saying that one day she would definitely win. Something pokes Usher on the cheek.

“…What are you doing?”

Its identity felt like Medea stabbed him with a tree branch, knowing how to find this place.

“I’m checking to see if he’s dead or not?”
“Can’t you see what I’m talking about?!”
“Oh my, I thought it was a mistake because it was so tattered.”

As she was getting angry at her prank, she remembered the girl Medea might have been with.

“But what about Belka?”
“She said she was bringing medicine?”

Those words made Usher feel a bit uneasy.

“Did you see me sparring?”

He seemed to already know the answer, but he asked because he wanted me to deny it. But was it unreasonable for her to wish such kindness from her?

“I’ve watched you break so hard~”

The sight of Mediah pressing his cheek with a tree branch as if having fun was so savage. She didn’t want to show Belka that side of her. Usher felt ashamed and had to hit Medea with a tree branch without saying anything until the girl came with the medicine. For some reason, it felt like I knew the feeling of a corpse pecked by crows.