Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Fixing the Dantian (4)
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The day after the maidservant caught Iris and me returning from our outing together.
Rumors had spread quickly throughout the household.
"Have you heard...? Apparently, that famous Sword Master Iris had a secret midnight rendezvous with our second Young Master...!"
"Oh my... alone with that debauched Young Master? Iris always has such a cold expression, so I never imagined she'd have tastes like that.... This is totally intriguing...!"
Every time I passed by, I could hear the maidservants whispering.
'...Haa.'
As expected, something like this could happen, so I should have insisted on going for walks alone.
I'd let my guard down carelessly and ended up causing trouble for Iris.
The maidservants spiced up what they'd witnessed to create stimulating gossip to alleviate their boredom for the day.
Thanks to that, Iris and I had become the talk of the town on their lips all day long.
After such an exhausting day, as usual, I headed to Iris's swordsmanship lesson.
"...I'm sorry, Iris. This happened because I suggested going out beyond the ducal territory."
"It doesn't matter. Please don't worry about it. I was the one who said I'd come along."
Iris stood in the training hall, her back to the moonlight, speaking as if it were no big deal.
Still, this wasn't right. Iris was a national Sword Master.
I'd tarnished the reputation of such a great figure, so it must have hit her hard deep down.
Having a secret meeting alone with a fat debauched Young Master... She could be seen as a Sword Master blinded by ambition for advancement.
"...No. I'll take responsibility and make sure these slanderous rumors disappear. If they spread any further, it would bother you too, Iris."
"I'm not particularly bothered."
I let out a sigh and gripped my wooden sword.
The sword lesson was about to begin, but today's events kept swirling in my mind, making it hard to focus.
...I need to shake it off.
Just as I cleared my mind again and assumed my stance to concentrate on the lesson.
Iris spoke to me.
"If you're so worried about the slander, there's a quick way to resolve it."
"What's that?"
"Make the slander into the truth."
Iris smiled mischievously.
...She seemed unaware of how serious the situation was.
Making pointless jokes in a time like this.
"...That's going too far with the joke."
"I'm kidding. Aren't you hating it too much? Even I would feel hurt."
"It's not that.... If you're linked with someone like me, who's rumored to be fat and debauched, won't you be called a Sword Master blinded by ambition? That's what worries me."
"Hmm...?"
Iris furrowed one eyebrow.
She tapped her fingers between her chin and lips a few times with a thoughtful expression.
Still holding the wooden sword loosely in one hand, she tilted her head this way and that, as if puzzled.
Then she asked me.
"Are you a debauched Young Master, Young Master?"
"Pardon?"
Her sudden question left me stunned for a moment, delaying my response.
"You might have been in the past... but I don't think so now."
"I see."
What was the intent behind that question?
As I tried to figure it out, Iris spoke again.
"You're still fat, Young Master."
"......"
What?
Was she teasing me?
As if reading my mind, she quickly added.
"I'm not teasing you. What I mean is, you're fat right now, Young Master. But aren't you dieting?"
"...Yes, that's true."
"Exactly. You'll definitely lose all that weight someday, Young Master. And even if I don't know what you were like before, from what I've seen of you over the past month, you're diligent and steadfast. At first, I thought you were just acting because of the rumors, but that doesn't seem to be the case."
Her sudden praise embarrassed me, so I covered my reddening face with my hand and said.
"You're too kind...."
"I'm just stating the facts as I see them. So the reason I said all this is that even if you're called fat and debauched now, someday you'll clear up all those misunderstandings."
Iris clasped her hands behind her back and gazed at the moon, continuing.
"You're gradually becoming more impressive, Young Master. In time, the rumors will shift to talk of how you've shed all that weight through effort and wield swordsmanship far more skilled than before."
Bathed in moonlight, Iris turned only her head toward me while facing away and smiled faintly.
Then she said something that made my heart squirm.
"I don't know about now, but when that time comes, I'll surely be rumored as a Sword Master with a good eye for people. Compared to that, the current rumors about me are nothing."
...Honestly, it moved me.
Lately, I'd only received gazes filled with prejudice and disdain.
Even knowing that I was unfairly bearing the consequences of the original Sian's actions before possession, I couldn't help but feel hurt by what I went through.
In that sense, Iris, who saw me without prejudice, was an incredibly grateful presence.
Her smile felt like the moon.
Like the only one illuminating my dark surroundings, her existence brought great comfort.
Tears welled up slightly in the corners of my eyes.
How could she be so confident after only seeing me for a month?
Not wanting to show my tears, I turned my head away from Iris and said casually.
"...What if I go back to being a debauched Young Master? What then?"
"Then I'd be the one who misjudged you. Well, I think I have a good eye for people, though."
"...I'll make sure you never misjudge me."
"Hehe. I look forward to it."
Iris gripped her wooden sword and assumed her stance as if nothing had happened.
"Has your worry been resolved now, Young Master?"
"Yes. It's completely gone."
In a position where I should have been comforting her, she ended up consoling me instead.
...For her honor, if nothing else, I needed to get stronger quickly.
I assumed my stance and regained my seriousness.
"Then, let's begin the final spar before school starts."
"Please go easy on me."
As soon as the words ended, we silently charged at each other fiercely.
And so, Iris's final swordsmanship lesson came to an end.
The next morning, I set off for Griffon's Forest with one coachman from the ducal territory and six escort knights.
It was a distance that could be reached by carriage in a day.
I'd packed ample food and the herbs I'd gathered previously.
In preparation for any dangerous situations along the way, I'd also brought the iron longsword from my room.
'This will be my first time using a real sword....'
The next day, I would go hunting monsters.
Unlike in the game, this was a real situation. To protect myself, I had to rely on the iron longsword in my hand right now.
Inside the jostling carriage, I opened the window and looked outside.
Vast plains and fields stretched out.
Seeing this made it sink in that I'd left the safety of the village where I'd been holed up for a month.
From now on, I might encounter bandits or monsters.
Even if the six escort knights were skilled, I couldn't let my guard down.
The game world I knew, Ariel, was one where sudden events happened frequently.
About 20 hours later.
Fortunately, aside from running into a ragtag group of bandits, we arrived at the village near Griffon's Forest without incident.
The escort knights drove off the bandits, and I joined them to take down the occasional low-level monsters that appeared.
The knights tried desperately to stop me from joining, but I fought alongside them to gain field experience.
What kind of monster hunting would it be if I just stayed safe? And so, we safely reached the village of Taipan near Griffon's Forest.
One of the escort knights asked me.
"Are you sure it's okay to go alone without escorts?"
It had to be alone, or it wouldn't work.
I was about to leave the village and head into Griffon's Forest.
They wouldn't let me go if it was dangerous, so I had to sneak away.
Besides, the Great Eagle's blood needed to be used immediately after killing it. Asking them to hunt it for me would be pointless.
"I'm fine. I just want to wander the town a bit and enjoy some freedom."
"Then... please be careful. We'll meet at the square around sunset. Take care of yourself."
"I know. You're worried because if something happens to me, the responsibility falls on you knights, right? Don't worry."
"Understood."
After that, I turned and blended into the crowd of residents, hiding myself in Taipan.
I felt a bit sorry for the escort knights since I was about to do something dangerous, but what could I do?
I had to fix my dantian. As soon as possible.
...And to keep my promise to Iris.
Dense trees rooted deeply into the ground.
The deeper I went, the more the warmth of human presence faded.
I pushed through small branches and vision-obscuring leaves, gradually making my way into the forest.
'A little further, and I'll reach the edge of Griffon's Forest.'
A forest teeming with crawling insects and generally humid.
An ideal environment for plants and animals. Located near the coastal village of Taipan, this forest was perfect for Great Eagles and other bird-type monsters to inhabit.
I gripped the iron longsword tighter in my hand.
From here on, I had to protect my own body. This was monster territory.
No escort knights. I could only trust my sword.
After venturing about 20 minutes deeper, I spotted signs of life.
Footprints of some bird, split into three toes.
Definitely traces of a Great Eagle inhabiting the edge of Griffon's Forest.
'So far, it's just like I remember from the game.'
I had to be careful from here.
If I got too focused chasing the Great Eagle's tracks and went too deep, I might run into a higher-level monster like a Griffon.
Encountering a Griffon was rare, but I still needed to stay alert.
I wasn't ready to take on a Griffon yet. If I did encounter one... I could lose my life.
This wasn't a game. It was reality.
A stark reality where death meant no respawn.
'That's why I gathered the Strengthening Herbs....'
If things went south, I'd eat a Strengthening Herb right away to bolster my body and flee at full speed.
That was my insurance plan.
As I crept along, hiding my body in the tree leaves.
"...Kiek!"
Jet-black feathers.
Fiercely sharp eyes.
Three bird-type monsters, slightly smaller than tigers, were pecking at the corpse of a fallen deer on the ground with their beaks.
'Found them.'
Their movements were vividly lifelike, as if they'd burst out of the monitor. Real Great Eagles.
'I can't move rashly. Three is too many.'
I knew well how sluggish and inexperienced my body still was.
...Target the one in the center of the three.
To wait for an opportunity, I held my breath and kept hiding in the bush leaves.
After a few minutes,
I felt beads of sweat from extreme tension trickling slowly down my neck.
"Kieek!"
The three Great Eagles, seemingly satisfied with their meal, flapped their wings.
The one in the center broke away from the group and waddled off into the opposite side of the forest.
'Now...!'
I slowly followed it, circling around from the opposite side while keeping hidden in the bush leaves to track it.