An elderly couple moved to Rind Village, where I lived.
"Fuhaha! Time to swing the sword today as well, I suppose!"
The old man was an eccentric who swung his sword around all over the village from morning till night. He also had a habit of glancing restlessly at his surroundings.
...A suspicious character, indeed.
I should steer as clear of him as possible.
Despite my young age, I had at least that much discretion. That was because I possessed memories of my previous life.
However, since I had died back then after being bedridden with an illness for years, I didn't have any special knowledge or practical skills.
At best, I was just slightly more sensible than other children my age—that was the extent of it.
I had thought being a reincarnator might come with some kind of amazing cheat ability, but so far, nothing of the sort had turned up.
I had no parents and lived in an orphanage in the rural backwater of Rind Village. I wasn't born into fortune, nor did I possess any talent I could boast about. My only stroke of good luck was that the orphanage had taken me in.
Then, one day, that old man set his sights on me.
"Hey, you. Interested in the sword?"
I see.
It seemed this old man was the type who loved to lecture and teach.
"I am Gard. What do you say? If you're a boy, haven't you ever wanted to master the blade at least once?"
"Not particularly."
"W-Wait a minute!"
"What?"
At five years old, I lived a rather listless life. Unable to fit in with the other kids at the orphanage, I merely passed the days in a daze.
"Here!"
"Whoa!"
To my shock, the old man tossed a wooden sword straight at me. When I caught it on reflex, he nodded repeatedly with satisfaction.
"Hm. Just as I thought, it suits you. You have talent, boy."
"...No, I'm really not interested."
"If you grow strong as a swordsman, you'll never go hungry in the future. You might even become a knight, which is a national qualification. It wouldn't hurt to try."
"...A qualification?"
"Why is that the only part you bite on? What an uncharming brat."
A qualification.
That was the one word I couldn't just let slide.
Qualifications were extremely important. After all, holding one reduced the chances of starving. For an orphan with no relatives, I couldn't have too many means to survive on my own. Besides, I would have to leave the orphanage once I turned fifteen anyway.
Regardless of the old man's intentions, the word "qualification" was simply too appealing.
"...I'm interested in the qualification. I wouldn't mind giving it a shot."
"Fuhaha! You may be an uncharming brat, but very well! I shall teach you the sword!"
"You won't charge me anything?"
"Normally, it would cost a fortune to learn swordsmanship from me—but for you, it's completely free as a special favor."
"In that case, I'll do it."
At the time, I assumed the old man was exaggerating. I figured he was just full of hot air, killing time in his old age.
"What's your name, boy?"
"...Leon."
"All right, Leon! I shall impart all of my swordsmanship to you!"
"No, just enough so I can get that knight qualification is fine."
"Hahaha! I knew it, you might just turn out to be someone great!"
I had no idea what made him think I was "great" in any way.
Thus, whenever I found the time, I began visiting the old man to learn swordsmanship.
His house was built on a small hill on the outskirts of the village, just a short walk from the orphanage. It was a weathered stone home, and from its spacious yard, one could look out over the blue sea and the endless horizon.
There, I gripped my wooden sword and began my lessons, but...
"Oh my, oh my. It seems little Leon has a talent for magic."
This time, an old woman poked her head out from inside the house.
Her name was apparently Irena. After watching me for a while, she made that sudden proclamation.
"Ngh...! Leon is going to become a knight! If you're a man, you ought to master the sword!"
"As always, you are behind the times. Gender has nothing to do with swords or magic. Besides, this child possesses an outstanding aptitude for magic. He should aim to become a mage."
"What are you saying?! Leon is made for the sword!"
"It's magic."
"The sword!"
"Magic."
"Sword!"
"Magic!"
"Gnuuu!"
"Muuu!"
Before I knew it, the old woman raised her voice as well, and the two ended up brawling. Good grief, they were an energetic pair.
"A mage's qualification is in high demand! If you're starting from a young age, it has to be magic!"
"...Is mage a qualification too?"
I immediately latched on to the word.
"Yes. Just like a knight, it is a splendid national qualification."
"Then I'll do both."
Huh?
Both of their eyes went wide.
They looked as if they were staring at something completely absurd.
"Half the week for the sword, and the other half for magic. That makes it fair."
"Hrmm. Both, you say...?"
"The more qualifications I have, the better."
"Hahaha! I knew it, you might just turn out to be someone great!"
"Fufu. What an ambitious child."
Thus, I split my week in half, learning the blade from the old man and magic from the old woman.
To take up the staff and don the sword.
How far that choice strayed from the common sense of this world was something my five-year-old self did not understand in the slightest.
"All right! Next is ten thousand practice swings!"
"...Okay."
Readjusting my grip on the wooden sword, I swung it down once more.
As the count climbed to a hundred, then a thousand, my arms grew as heavy as lead, and blisters formed across my palms. Even so, if the trajectory of my swing wavered in the slightest, the old man's roar would come flying.
"Don't swing with just your arms! Plant your feet, turn your hips, and drive that power all the way to the tip of the blade!"
"...Like this?"
"Wrong! Make every single one of those ten thousand swings follow the exact same path down to the millimeter!"
"You're asking for the impossible..."
"You want that qualification, don't you?"
"I'll do it."
If it was to earn the knight qualification, I had no choice.
Ignoring my aching arms, I simply kept swinging the wooden sword over and over.
Then came the magic training days. While the old man was undeniably strict, the old woman was surprisingly severe in her own right.
"Little Leon. Today, split your mana into a hundred threads and lift all of these pebbles."
"Okay."
A hundred pebbles were lined up in the yard.
Raising my staff, I drew out the mana from within my body and extended it into fine threads. Tying each one to a pebble, I carefully lifted them into the air.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
The more the count increased, the thinner my focus wore, making it ridiculously difficult...
"If you drop even one, you start over from the beginning."
"Old lady, you're pretty ruthless too, you know..."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing."
"One dropped."
"Ah..."
"Ufufu. Back to the beginning you go."
"..."
For some reason, the old woman smiled with pure delight whenever I failed. She might have actually been the scarier of the two...
On sword days, it was swings, distance running, footwork, and sparring. Circulating mana through the blade, I honed the precision of my sword skills.
On magic days, it was mana manipulation and spell formulation, relentlessly casting until my mana ran dry.
If I couldn't do it, I kept going until I could.
Once I could do it, I moved on to the next task.
Every day was like that.
"This is all just the basics!"
"This level is merely the first step for a mage."
Because the two of them treated it as common sense, I assumed that was simply how things were—that earning the qualifications for a knight or a mage was just that grueling.
I had started learning the sword and magic solely to secure those qualifications, but...
"Ohh! As expected, the old woman's cooking hits the spot!"
"...It's delicious."
"Fufu. Little Leon, you may have seconds."
"What about me?"
"Not for you. You'll get fat."
"I will not!"
"Your belly is sticking out again, isn't it? That's why you can't."
"Waaaah! Leon, she's bullying me!"
"Like a child..."
"Who are you calling a child?!"
"Ahaha."
Without thinking, laughter spilled from my lips.
I was the most surprised of all that such a sound had come from my own mouth.
"Ohh! Leon laughed!"
"Fufu. It is because you are being far too childish."
"Which means it's thanks to me!"
"Shall we leave it at that?"
Gathered around the warm food, the three of us sat at the same table.
The old man made a racket, the old woman chided him, and I moved my spoon while watching their banter.
The quiet sound of waves drifted in through the window, and the fire in the hearth gently illuminated the room. In this house, my share of the meal was set out as a matter of course.
I was praised for my successes, and even when I failed, they would smile and tell me I could just try again tomorrow.
There was no blood relation between us.
Even so, sitting around the table like this allowed me to forget that I was an orphan. It felt as though we had become a real family.
Ten years passed in this manner.
I was no longer five years old; I had turned fifteen.
I had grown considerably taller, and my once-scrawny limbs now carried lean, supple muscle forged by a decade of relentless training. The wooden sword I used to grip with both hands just to keep steady could now be swung effortlessly with one.
The hard calluses etched into my palms bore witness to every single year.
"Leon. The time has finally come."
"Yeah."
"I have passed on all of my swordsmanship to you. The forms, the footwork, the mana circulation, and the skills. There is nothing left for me to teach."
The old man slowly drew his sword.
"That is precisely why I ask this of you."
His usual cheerful smile had vanished.
The next moment, accompanied by a prickling thirst for battle, a vast aura of mana surged from his entire body. The grass and trees swayed, and the air pulled taut.
Though he was usually just a boisterous old man, right now, it felt as though I were facing a colossal, unsheathed blade.
The tip of his sword pointed straight at me.
"Defeat me. That is the final trial I give you."
I rested my hand on the hilt of the sword at my waist.
The final day of ten years of training had begun.