The eighth day marked the final day of Baslero’s combat training. As had become the routine, Reiji, Baslero, and Set were gathered at the guild’s training grounds.
"Wow, no muscle pain at all? I’m actually a little jealous of someone with access to recovery magic."
For some reason, Mirene was also present at the training grounds for the second day in a row.
While her primary objective was obviously Set, she seemed genuinely interested in the progress of the student she had helped train. She had been surprised to see Baslero appear with a nonchalant expression after the grueling drills of the previous day—where he had pushed his muscles to the limit focusing on defense and evasion—and had spoken up after hearing the explanation.
"Ahaha. I’ve heard it doesn't have a very good effect on my long-term growth, though. But since today is the last day, I asked Ashie to push herself a bit and use recovery magic on me."
Baslero seemed to understand that over-reliance on healing was detrimental to his development as a swordsman. However, he had judged it impossible to maintain the same level of training while hampered by muscle pain, and the maid, Ashie—who was fundamentally soft on the boy—had been unable to refuse his earnest plea.
"Well, whatever. I’ll show you something interesting today. You definitely won't be able to pull this off right now, but you should at least remember that such a technique exists."
"...A technique?"
"Yes. Hmm... it might be a bit dangerous to demonstrate on you. Rei, grab a weapon and take an attack from me."
"I don't mind... but I'd appreciate it if you didn't do anything too reckless."
While speaking, Rei retrieved the iron spear he had used during the first day of Baslero's training from his Misty Ring. Leveling the spear, he nodded toward Mirene.
"Ready. What should I do?"
"I’m going to attack. Catch the blow with the spear's shaft."
The relaxed expression Mirene had worn during yesterday's training was gone, replaced by a look of sharp intensity. Even Baslero, watching from the sidelines, could tell that the move she was about to perform was of considerable difficulty.
Set watched the two of them, opening its eyes just a crack as it lay on the ground. However, because it was well aware of the strength of both parties—especially Rei—it decided that nothing catastrophic would happen and promptly closed its eyes again.
"Whew... Here I come! Haaah! Shock Wave!"
Mirene closed the distance toward Rei with her sword held ready. The moment she entered her striking range, she swung her blade in a sharp horizontal slash.
What’s this? Rei wondered silently.
To all appearances, it looked like a perfectly ordinary horizontal slash. There was no visible change in the sword's trajectory. Though he tilted his head in confusion, he brought the shaft of his spear up to intercept the incoming blade. Then, in the next instant—
"Whoa!"
Even though he had successfully blocked the blade, a jarring impact surged through the spear's shaft and struck Rei's hands.
Fortunately, the impact wasn't powerful enough to make him drop the spear, but he still looked down at his hands, which felt slightly numb, before turning his gaze back to Mirene, who had come to a halt.
"What was that just now?"
"It’s one of my specialties... though I didn't think you’d be able to keep your grip on the weapon. I’m actually a little depressed now."
Mirene looked between her sword and Rei's spear. Since it was one of her finishing moves, seeing it have almost no effect was clearly a shock to her system.
"Mirene-san, how did you do that?! That's the first time I've ever seen Teacher change his expression after taking a hit!"
Even if the attack hadn't truly damaged Rei, the fact that the impact had caused him to react was undeniable. Seeing this, Baslero approached Mirene with a look of profound respect.
"It’s a technique that uses magic power to deliver an impact through the opponent's weapon. In my case, I have some magic power, but not enough to truly master magic, so I devised this technique through trial and error as a workaround... No, well, it is Rei, after all."
She shook her head as she spoke, looking as though she were resigning herself to the reality of Rei's overwhelming nature.
"C-Can I do it too?! I mean... that move just now!"
"I wonder. I think it’s possible as long as you have even a little magic power and can learn to control it."
"Magic power... Hmm, magic power, huh. I'm not very confident about that."
"Well, you shouldn't be relying on techniques like this right from the start anyway, or your skill will never improve. No matter what you’re aiming for, you have to start with the basics. And by basics, I mean things like physical strength. You look like you've trained more than a typical kid, but you’re still a long way off from being able to survive as an adventurer. ...Though for a boy your age, I suppose that’s only natural."
Perhaps pleased by the look of respect in his eyes, Mirene gave Baslero advice with a slightly haughty air. However, since her words were fundamentally correct, Rei didn't interrupt and instead approached the lounging Set.
"Guruu?"
Set let out a soft trill, as if asking what was wrong.
Rei stroked the griffon's head as he spoke. "Hey, Set. I can't sense magic power myself, but does Baslero have any?"
"Gururuu."
Set nodded at the question. It was common for humans in this world to possess at least some magic power. However, possessing it and being able to use it were two very different things. If one had a significant amount of magic power and the ability to control it, they could cast magic. Even if they lacked the capacity for full spells, they could still refine their control into unique skills—much like Mirene’s Shock Wave.
"I see... It's a shame, but I'll give up for now. Instead, once I've built a solid foundation, I’ll definitely develop a technique just like Mirene-san's!"
Baslero spoke with firm resolve. Seeing the effect of her words, Mirene smiled with satisfaction.
"That’s the spirit. Training the basics is boring, but the basics are the foundation of everything... the beginning. There are fools who neglect their foundation to pursue flashy techniques, but they usually turn out to be as hollow as their moves. At best, they hit a wall at D-Rank. That’s especially true here in Gilm; because we’re on the frontier, the overall quality of the adventurers is quite high."
"...I see. I understand. I’ll work hard and make sure I don't neglect my basics."
"Yes, keep at it. Especially since your defensive fundamentals are so lacking..."
Mirene trailed off as she suddenly snapped back to reality. She turned a sharp gaze toward Rei.
"...Wait a minute, Rei. Why am I the one teaching this boy so desperately while you just stand there and watch in silence?"
"Because you're much better suited to teaching the sword than I am. I’ve never actually handled a sword before."
Rei's only experience with swords consisted of playing with sticks as a child or swinging a bamboo sword once or twice when a friend in his high school kendo club let him try it. If he had taken kendo classes in school, things might have been different, but the high school Reiji had attended taught judo instead of kendo for physical education, leaving him with zero formal training.
"That’s not the point! You’re the one who accepted this job! I agreed to help in exchange for a date with Seto-chan, but at this rate, I’ve become the main instructor!"
"Well, I don't really have an excuse for that... Hm?"
Rei was trying to figure out how to placate Mirene when he noticed a figure running vigorously toward the training grounds from the guild’s back entrance. Between the characteristic cat ears and the supple movements typical of a beastman, he recognized the person immediately. it was Kenny the receptionist.
"...What’s wrong?"
Finding it strange that Rei had cut off his sentence, Mirene followed his gaze and noticed Kenny as well.
"Oh, it's Kenny. ...I wonder what happened to put her in such a rush."
"She’s one of the guild receptionists, isn't she?"
"That’s the one. ...Though lately, her eyes have been fixed on a certain someone."
Mirene spoke while casting a pointed glance at Rei. He returned the look as he opened his mouth to reply.
"And that 'certain someone' seems to have her eyes fixed on Set."
"And what of it? Unlike some people, what I feel for Seto-chan is pure love! A selfless, devoted love that asks for nothing in return but to be by its side!"
With a theatrical flourish, Mirene reached out toward Set, who had walked over to Rei's side to wait for Kenny.
While they were talking, Kenny ran with the agility of the Cat Beastman race and arrived before the group.
Despite it being the middle of winter, she was still in her indoor uniform, without so much as a coat to keep her warm.
"...What do you think it is?"
"Who knows. A brawl at the tavern? Maybe she wants us—or rather, Rei—to break it up since we're the only sober ones? Well, we’ll know soon enough."
Despite their casual banter, a faint sense of dread lingered in both of their hearts. Perhaps this sharp intuition was also a trait of a seasoned adventurer. And as was often the case, bad premonitions tended to be right.
"Rei-kun, Mirene, it's an emergency! A caravan heading for Gilm is being attacked by a flock of Ice Birds! We need an immediate rescue mission!"
Kenny’s voice rang across the training grounds. While the news was a first for Rei, who was spending his first winter in the city, it was quite unexpected for Mirene.
"What?! Hey, Kenny! Why is there a caravan coming to this city at this time of year?!"
"I don't know the details! All I know is that we got a report from the guards! Everyone in the tavern is too drunk to be counted as a fighting force... and then I remembered that Rei-kun and Mirene were at the training grounds. Please, you have to help! Apparently, it’s a massive flock—there are over fifty Ice Birds!"
"Fighting a flock of Ice Birds in this weather... Oh."
Mirene turned her gaze toward Rei with a snap. She grabbed the shoulder of his Dragon Robe and looked him in the eye.
"Hey, Rei. You’re good at flame magic, right?"
"Yeah. My highest aptitude is in the flame-system."
In truth, he couldn't use any magic other than flame-based spells. However, since he was passing off the various skills of the Death Scythe as magic, he had to maintain the charade.
"Then we might have a chance. Ice Birds are Ice-system Monsters, so they’re weak to fire."
"Ice Birds... I think I remember reading about them in a monster manual."
He muttered the name, recalling the information from the book.
Ice Bird: A Bird-type monster of Rank D, roughly 1m in length. They are known to hunt in swarms. Individually Rank D, a flock of Ice Birds is treated as Rank C equivalent. They only appear during the depths of winter. They attack with sharp beaks and claws and, as their name suggests, specialize in Ice-type Magic. However, they are extremely weak to the flame-system; a mage with fire spells or flame-system magic items can counter them with relative ease. The proof of subjugation part is a single pure white tail feather about 20cm long. Harvestable materials include the tail feather, the beak, and the internal organ for controlling ice power.
"The book I read definitely mentioned that. If Set and I go, we should be able to handle it. Kenny, can we head out immediately?"
"Eh? Yes, please! I’ll handle the nomination request's formality later. Just get to the caravan and help them as fast as you can!"
"Understood. Then it’s alright if I take off on Set right from here?"
"I’ve already cleared it with the authorities. ...Mirene, you too!"
"Ah, I can't go exactly as I am now. I have to run back to the inn and grab my armor."
Mirene had clearly intended to focus solely on Baslero's training today. She wasn't wearing her usual leather armor, opting instead for everyday clothes. While she was wearing trousers rather than a skirt—knowing she would be moving around—she was far from battle-ready.
"Then hurry! Rei-kun, go!"
"On it. Set!"
"Guruu!"
Set responded instantly to Rei's call. Mirene looked slightly envious of their perfect coordination as she turned and sprinted toward her inn.
Rei vaulted onto Set’s back. At the same time, he pulled the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring...
"Teacher! Please take me with you!"
Just as he was about to command Set to take flight, Baslero—who had been watching the scene unfold from beside Kenny—shouted out to him.
"Don't be foolish. You’d only be a hindrance right now. Ice Birds are Rank D, and they’re treated as Rank C in a flock, remember? They aren't opponents you can handle yet. Kenny, keep an eye on him."
"Ah, right. Got it. Rei-kun, be careful out there!"
"Don't worry. I talked them up to Baslero, but they’re only Rank C because of their numbers. Besides, they’re weak to fire. They aren't particularly scary opponents for Set and me. ...Set!"
"Gururuu!"
Answering Rei's call, Set took a few powerful strides before beating its wings, soaring into the sky as if treading upon the very air itself.