Taming the Fox
Was it because I’d lived in this world for more than ten years now, or because I’d been dragged through the mud so many times?
My memories of my past life had grown hazy by now.
Then again, I hadn’t exactly tried to hold onto them, and I’d never written down that I wouldn’t forget. It wasn’t strange that they’d slipped away.
If I’d spent that time trying to remember, I should have been learning how to survive instead.
Maybe that was why what remained of my past life was such a jumble.
I remembered the things I’d thought important and forgot the things that were actually useful.
Like this, for example.
In my past life, I hadn’t particularly liked hiking.
And yet, for one reason or another, I sometimes ended up climbing mountains. Whenever I finally reached the summit, I’d often find vendors selling cold water or ice cream.
Because they had to haul heavy ice boxes all the way to the top, the prices were absurdly high, so I never bought much. But I still remembered the time I’d splurged and bought one, and how unbelievably good that ice cream had tasted.
So why was I bringing this up all of a sudden? Because when I saw Jurni trudging up here with food in both arms, it reminded me of that.
No, that’s not quite right. It’s closer to delivery food, isn’t it?
To think there was now a delivery service, and not only that, it even came all the way out to this remote place.
Had Silia’s civilization advanced more than I knew?
Click.
As usual, I watched Jurni arrive and hold out the food.
She’d come all the way up the mountain every day just because I’d saved her from a mere cockatrice?
And she brought a different meal every single day?
She’s absurdly devoted.
At first I’d been dumbfounded, but now I’d simply accepted it.
I didn’t have to bother cooking, and I didn’t have to clean up after myself, so it wasn’t as if I had anything to complain about.
Still, it was a little hard to ignore the way she stared at me while I ate.
It was obvious she wanted something from me, but I couldn’t tell what.
At first I’d wondered if she’d poisoned the food, but mana hadn’t reacted at all. Besides, if I’d been vulnerable to poison, I wouldn’t still be breathing now anyway.
It tastes good again today.
So I ate whatever food Jurni brought without thinking too much about it.
It wasn’t on the level of the dishes served at noble banquets, but it was still good enough that I sometimes looked forward to it.
When I finished eating and set the bowl aside, Jurni muttered again in Arkish, as she always did.
“Was I really the one who was wrong?”
What was she even talking about?
I left her there mumbling to herself and rubbed oil into the cloth.
It was far too late to improve through maintenance, but at least it might hold together a little longer.
It was my own way of showing gratitude to the blacksmith who’d helped me.
Whoosh.
“…?”
While I was lost in thought as I wiped my sword, Jurni was doing something strange.
She should have been gone by now, but leaving that aside for a moment—
…What is she doing?
Was that some kind of dance for prosperity? Or was she trying to imitate one of those wobbling inflatable tube figures?
The fact that she was dancing with a sword in her hand made me wonder whether it carried some ritual meaning.
At any rate, it definitely wasn’t swordsmanship.
While I was still trying to make sense of it, her bizarre performance continued.
Swish, swish. She swung the sword in movements that suited the sound effect perfectly, then finally froze in place.
She looked rather pleased with herself as she wiped the sweat from her face.
“Just a little more rest and—”
“...That’s not how you do it.”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
If that had been her goal, then her talent was truly remarkable.
I’d noticed it when I first saw her, but her skill with a sword was so poor it was hard to believe she’d ever held one before.
Even a month of practice probably wouldn’t get her to that level.
“Phew….”
I hadn’t planned to interfere with whatever she was doing.
But seeing something so awful in front of me made it impossible to ignore.
Payment… let’s just call it payment.
It would be a little shameful to keep eating my fill and then wash my hands of the matter.
“Listen carefully.”
My swordsmanship was different from the orthodox style taught to knights.
But that wasn’t a reason I couldn’t teach her.
After all, I’d learned swordsmanship through the standard method myself when I first picked one up, and at this level, the mistakes were obvious.
And what I was about to teach her wasn’t even swordsmanship proper, but something far more basic.
“Don’t hold it with both hands. Use one hand.”
I took her left hand off the sword, which she’d been gripping tightly.
If she was only trying to put strength into it for a moment, fine. But if she was going to hold it with both hands from the start, why not just use a two-handed sword? What was the point of using a one-handed sword then?
“You’re holding it wrong too.”
Some people might dismiss that as nothing more than how you grip it.
But whether you were learning swordsmanship or anything else, the first thing you learned when handling a tool was how to hold it.
If you learned the proper grip, you could use the tool as efficiently as possible.
“Hold it like this.”
What beginners often overlooked was that, to put proper force into a sword, it was also important to shift the balance with your fingers.
I mimed a swing and shifted my fingers around to show her.
I had no idea whether she’d understand.
The odds were probably low, but that wasn’t really my problem.
“Your stance should be like this.”
I nudged her bent leg, and Jurni awkwardly spread her feet apart.
You had to get your stance right so that offense and defense could flow together smoothly.
Of course, the proper stance changed depending on what you were fighting.
There were sword styles effective against humans and others effective against monsters, so naturally the basic stance of swordsmanship changed too.
Still, what she’d been doing earlier was just plain wrong.
Since we couldn’t communicate properly, I adjusted her posture with my own hands, and she at least stopped looking quite so ridiculous.
“Finally, the swing.”
Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to point out.
The way she treated the sword. In my eyes, that was the biggest problem.
I wasn’t saying she should treat it like a lover or think of it as a part of herself. Though, sure, it would be good if she cherished it.
But whether someone else wanted to date their sword or kiss it was none of my business.
Still, wasn’t it a little much to be afraid of getting cut by your own sword?
You should have been frightening the enemy, not yourself.
Being careful and being a coward were different things, and this was clearly the latter.
If she was too scared to swing properly no matter how many times I told her, what was the point?
Unfortunately, unlike the things I could correct with physical guidance, this wasn’t something I could teach through action, so I decided to leave it for now.
Even if we could talk, it still wouldn’t be fixed overnight.
Could someone who was trembling after only a few words suddenly become brave in battle?
After making a few demonstrations while holding the sword myself, I stepped back.
“Now you try.”
I’d only taught her the barest basics, but for someone who had none at all, this should be enough.
Jurni, who had been standing there dazed and blank-faced, suddenly came to her senses.
“Uh, so….”
She clumsily retraced what I’d shown her and settled into position.
Then she took a deep breath and swung her arm wide.
Swaaaish!
It was a very different sound from the one she’d made when she’d been flailing around as if performing a ritual to summon something.
She still looked like a complete beginner just starting out with a sword, but even so, this was a lot better.
She seemed surprised by herself too and swung the sword a few more times.
“My sword proficiency suddenly shot up? Wow, it can rise like this?”
At this rate, I’d earned my keep.
“Yaaawn….”
Now that I’d eaten and moved my body a little, I was getting sleepy.
I rubbed my eyes after a long yawn.
She could keep practicing if she wanted, or head back down the mountain; she’d manage on her own.
Even if she tried something foolish, I’d notice it.
So should I just leave her be and get some sleep?
Hm. Tempting…
* * *
After learning swordsmanship from the gravekeeper, Jurni’s endlessly repeating daily life changed a little.
She woke early, turned on her stream, and logged into Silia.
Buying food that was famous for tasting good and carrying it up to where the gravekeeper lived was still the same as before.
“Hi!”
“Hi, is not the same as hello. Say, ‘hello.’”
“Hel… lo?”
“Hello.”
“Hello!”
Unlike before, when she’d simply left the mountain after delivering the food, she now stayed and talked with the gravekeeper, or practiced her sword.
The gravekeeper seemed to have changed somehow, too. He often spoke to her now.
He still didn’t seem to have any intention of telling her his name, and whenever she asked, he would shut his mouth and refuse to answer. But when Jurni said something wrong, he would correct her and teach her the proper way to say it.
“Hello….”
Jurni quietly repeated the word the gravekeeper had taught her, and inside, she cried tears of emotion.
All the time and effort she’d invested hadn’t been meaningless after all…!
Since she thought of the money spent on food as tuition, it didn’t even feel that wasteful.
Not wasteful at all… not wasteful…
...Only a little. Just a tiny little bit wasteful.
Since it wasn’t exactly pocket change, it would be a lie to say she didn’t regret it at all.
Still, seeing her sword proficiency rising at a speed she’d never experienced before was enough to calm the sting in her heart.
Anyway, hadn’t she achieved her original goal of getting closer to the gravekeeper?
—Achieved… I guess?
—Hmm, that’s a bit vague.
“But this means we’re close! Other people can’t even get a word in before they’re kicked out, but I can actually talk to him!”
Seeing Jurni spending time with the gravekeeper, quite a few players started climbing the mountain.
They weren’t coming to defeat the gravekeeper; they were coming because they wanted to exchange even a single word with him.
But their attempts were always crushed.
Even when they tried to speak to him and offer tributes the way Jurni had, he wouldn’t even pretend to listen.
And because they couldn’t ask him why, the aggrieved victims flocked instead to the gravekeeper’s close acquaintance—Jurni’s stream.
But even Jurni didn’t know why the gravekeeper acted that way, or why he was so lenient with her.
She’d asked him directly too, but no answer had ever come back, so what could she do?
As usual, Jurni ignored the questions filling the chat and rummaged through her inventory.
“Today I prepared….”
Drumroll.
She made the sound with her mouth and flashed a grin.
It was a grin that somehow felt a little devious.
A moment later, a bowl filled with something bright red popped into Jurni’s hands.
“Volcano Fried Rice!”