The day after it was decided that Rei would provide combat training for Basrero at Baron Cisne’s house, he set out slightly early. Bathed in the rays of a rare morning sun, he walked through the Noble District toward the Cisne manor, the ground still crunching with ice and snow despite the clear skies.
The familiar presence of Seto was missing from his side today. Part of the reason was that the griffon hadn't been particularly fond of the backyard where he’d lounged the day before, but the primary factor was Mirene. She had staged one of her periodic raids on the Dusk Wheat Inn, bringing a haul of food bought with her rewards from a lizardman subjugation request and storming the stables as she always did.
(At least she’s started asking for my permission before fussing over him, so I suppose you could say she’s grown to some extent.)
Rei stepped firmly onto the frozen ground, enjoying the rhythmic snapping of ice under his boots as he mused to himself.
Still, considering the sheer volume of supplies Mirene had hauled in "for Seto," he couldn't help but wonder—purely as an outside observer—how much of her reward was actually left.
"Well, if she runs out of money, Scorching Wind will probably just end up taking on another request."
He felt a brief pang of sympathy for Sulnin and Ekryl, who would inevitably be dragged along for the ride.
Lost in these idle thoughts, he reached the entrance to the Noble District, presented his Guild Card to the gatekeepers, and made his way to the Cisne manor.
Naturally, the residence of a house with only a lord, a son, and a single maid lacked anything resembling a guard. Rei opened the gate in silence and entered the grounds. Muet had told him the day before that he couldn't afford to hire a gatekeeper, so Rei was free to let himself in.
Rei had been appalled by the lack of security when he first heard it, but when Muet explained that there was almost nothing left to steal, he'd had no choice but to concede the point.
(Though I'm sure they've hidden anything they truly can't afford to lose in a proper spot.)
Thinking this, he gave the front door a light knock. Ashie appeared from deep within the hallway almost immediately.
"Welcome, Rei-san! The Young Master's combat training starts today, doesn't it? Please, go easy on him. If he gets hurt, call me right away. I'll use my recovery magic... Eep!"
Ashie gave a small smile and bowed as she spoke, but she had failed to account for the broom in her hands.
The handle was positioned directly in her path. As she dipped her head, the wood caught her squarely on the forehead. Ashie let out a cry of pain and fumbled the broom, letting it clatter to the floor.
"...Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes... I'm fine..."
Her forehead was already turning red and tears were prickling the corners of her eyes, but Ashie forced a smile, insisting she was okay.
"Um, the Young Master is already prepared, so I will guide you."
"No need. It's the same backyard as yesterday, right?"
"That is true... but I have been instructed to guide you properly."
"...I think you should treat that injury before you worry about guiding me."
"Au..."
Realizing just how much her forehead was throbbing and swelling, she looked down in embarrassment. She whispered a few words, and a white light blossomed in her palm. She pressed the light to her brow, and in less than a few seconds, the bruise vanished without a trace.
"Hoh. Your skill with recovery magic is indeed as impressive as I’d heard."
"Ah, um... thank you very much. I’ve always been a bit of a dojikko... and while I was busy fixing my own blunders over the years, I somehow became quite good at recovery magic before I knew it. Originally, I could only heal minor nicks. It's not really a noble way to have improved, so it's not something I should be praised for."
Shifting from pain to bashfulness, Ashie laughed shyly, hiding her face.
Rei, however, shook his head as if the details were irrelevant.
"It doesn't matter how you became skilled at it. The only thing that matters is that you are skilled. It’s because I know you're here that I decided I could push Basrero a bit harder during his training."
"R-Rei-san!? Please, don't do anything too terrible to the Young Master..."
"I'm not going to bully him. But it's a fact that a certain degree of danger is necessary for real growth."
(This power of mine was originally dwelling in Zephyle's created body from the start, but I still had to survive countless battles with monsters and men to master it. Compared to me, Basrero has to build his strength from zero. He’s going to have a much harder time, and that’s exactly when recovery magic proves its worth.)
"Regardless, I want to get started. Take me to Basrero. Even though I know the way."
Rei urged the maid forward.
Ashie nodded quickly and started to turn.
"Yes, I shall guide you. Right this—Kya!"
She turned too sharply, lost her balance, and tumbled to the floor. Watching her, Rei was once again convinced that this maid truly did possess a terminal dojikko attribute.
"Good morning, Teacher."
As Rei had expected, he was led to the backyard. However, the scene was different from the day before; every bit of dead wood and debris that had littered the yard was gone. Even the large branches Seto had pushed aside were missing, making the space look unnaturally bare.
Noticing Rei’s surprise, Basrero looked toward Ashie with a smile.
"Ashie cleaned everything up yesterday. She said it would be too dangerous to have a mock battle with the yard in that state. I wanted to help, but she wouldn't let me."
"Of course not! The Young Master is the heir of Baron Cisne's house. I cannot have you doing something like cleaning!"
Ashie declared firmly, her voice thick with professional pride.
"Ashie... even I can tell the Baron Cisne’s house is in decline. It’s probably going to collapse soon..."
"That is not true! The Master may look like that, but he is a man who gets things done. I am certain he will be held in high regard by Lord Margrave Larkus in no time."
(...'He may look like that,' huh? Is that really okay to say?)
Rei couldn't help but retort inwardly.
But perhaps this was just the normal dynamic of the household. Basrero didn't seem to find the comment odd and simply continued the conversation about the family's prospects.
"By the way, where's Muet?"
"The Master has gone to work at the Lord's Mansion. He was going to take the week off while you were here, Rei-sama, but fortunately, since you arrived yesterday, he was able to go in."
"I see. Well then, let's get right to it."
"Yes!"
Basrero nodded at Rei’s words and drew his sword.
Ashie watched the scene with an anxious, yet intensely serious gaze.
Rei wondered if she didn't have other chores to attend to, but since Basrero wasn't sending her away today, he assumed they had discussed it as a family.
Rei felt that having Ashie watch so nervously might interfere with the boy's focus, but he reconciled himself to it with the thought that she could provide immediate medical attention if needed.
He held up a hand to stop Basrero as the boy prepared to lunge.
"Hold on. First, a review of yesterday. You remember how I kept hitting your legs during the mock battle, right?"
"Eh? ...Ah, yes. I don't think I could forget that even if I wanted to."
"Good. Do you understand why I focused so heavily on your lower body?"
"Um... because my legs were full of openings?"
Rei nodded, impressed.
Basrero had clearly been replaying the match in his head. He hadn't expected to beat a seasoned adventurer like Rei, but he had trained desperately using the book left by Muet's great-grandfather. He had assumed that since Rei was using a cheap practice iron spear rather than a real weapon, he might at least land a single hit. He’d had the pride of his own training. Instead, he had been tripped by the spear's shaft so many times he had lost count.
After Rei had left, Ashie had found the boy covered in dirt, dragged him to the bath—which was heated by a magic item—and scrubbed him down before using recovery magic on every scrape and bruise.
In that bath, Basrero had visualized the battle over and over, eventually reaching the obvious conclusion: his footwork was non-existent.
(The reason Ashie was so polite to Rei this morning was partly her professional training, but also because she realized Rei hadn't actually left a single lasting injury on the boy despite how often he’d fallen.)
Rei nodded at the boy's answer.
"Exactly. I know you didn't have a dojo or a sword techniques instructor to teach you. You had to learn from a book on your own, and because of that, your growth is distorted. You've focused almost entirely on flashy offense."
"T-That..."
Rei’s words hit home.
The manual Basrero used was indeed offense-heavy. It did contain defensive drills, but Basrero was still a ten-year-old child. It was only natural for him to gravitate toward the exciting attack moves rather than the tedious defensive footwork.
"It's because I neglected the boring stuff, isn't it?"
"Yeah. That’s part of it. It can't be helped when you're training alone without a teacher to correct your balance."
"The Young Master worked very hard, regardless!" Ashie interjected, unable to stay silent as she felt Rei was being too harsh.
Rei looked at the maid and nodded.
"I know that. I could see exactly how much work he’s put in from the way he moves. Without a guide, this kind of bias is unavoidable. Besides, being offense-oriented isn't necessarily a bad thing."
He recalled Basrero's thrust from the previous day.
The power was still lacking due to his age, but the speed and precision were sharp enough to kill a goblin with ease.
"So, that's the assessment. For today's mock battle, I'm going to keep targeting your weaknesses. I'll prioritize your legs since that's where your biggest openings are, but don't think I won't strike elsewhere. Stay sharp."
Rei pulled the practice iron spear from the Misty Ring.
"Yes! Protect my legs. Understood! I’ll keep my eyes on my footing today."
"Good. Enough talk. Come!"
"Here I go!"
With a shout, Basrero closed the distance. He was even faster than yesterday, but as he shifted into his attack, a certain stiffness appeared. Even the thrust Rei had just praised—the boy's greatest strength—was marred by a momentary clumsiness.
Rei saw the cause immediately. By over-focusing on the defense he’d just been criticized for, Basrero had made his entire body rigid.
"Hey! You're so worried about defense that your attack has gone sloppy! That's your best weapon, so don't let it dull! If you want to blunt your opponent's momentum, you have to stay aggressive so they can't do whatever they want!"
As he spoke, Rei swept the spear's shaft toward Basrero's feet...
Clang!
Basrero successfully parried the shaft with his blade.
For a split second, a look of pure joy lit up the boy's face. But.
"Don't think an attack ends after the first swing!"
Using the momentum of the parry, Rei spun the spear in a wide arc through the air. Capitalizing on his superior physical ability, he whipped the shaft around to sweep the boy's other leg before Basrero could even think about repositioning his sword.
"Wha—!?"
Basrero cried out as his feet were taken out from under him. He tumbled back onto the snow-dusted ground.
Ashie stood by, watching with a worried face, her hands glowing as she remained ready to provide recovery magic at a moment's notice.
And so, the second day of combat training continued.