Troublesome Party (3)
"Yeah. So stop staring at me like that. It's creepy."
That kind of look. Well, it wasn't bad. Better than the alternative, at least.
For a dirt-poor noble his age to have two girls willingly trailing after him just because they liked him—that was no small feat. From the way they stuck together, their bond looked pretty solid. He clearly had luck with people. At a glance they were nothing more than a bunch of hot-blooded kids, no more, no less.
"All right. You'll be staying here for a week."
"A whole week? If we don't go back, our parents will worry."
Parents worrying, huh. Earlier he'd made it sound like his family treated him like garbage. There was no real need to fret about that, but I hoped it wasn't just an excuse.
"If that was going to be a problem, why the hell did you come out here?"
"Ah—no, I can do it. I'll try."
He answered even while shrinking into himself. Good. He should have said that from the start. In that case, I didn't need to go easy. As long as they didn't die, it would be fine.
"Guess it's time to pull out Habel's Hourglass."
"Will those kids even last?"
Mentally? No chance. But maybe their bodies would hold up better.
"Athelina's little vermin managed it. Why wouldn't these ones?"
"Point taken."
I took out Habel's Hourglass. They'd endure this much. Those worthless bugs had managed it; there was no way these three couldn't. So for the next week, I'd grind them into shape. It would work out somehow. I believed that.
"All right, let's begin. From now on, you'll be fighting this teddy bear."
"Wait—my teddy bears?"
"Is that a problem? I didn't bring the practice orcs and goblins, so we'll make do with yours."
For Athelina's vermin this would have been a genuine crisis. I flipped Habel's Hourglass.
"Wh-what is this?"
The one called Hans looked at me, begging for an explanation. Fine. If he was curious, I'd answer.
"In here, even if twenty-four hours pass, not a single second ticks by outside."
"Then...?"
"If you only count the time it takes me to flip the hourglass, less than an hour will have passed outside by the time your training is finished."
They stared blankly, not grasping it, so I flipped the hourglass and showed them firsthand. Only then did the clueless beginners realize this place was perfect for training. And that was when Celia's teddy bears entered the fray.
"Even if we're weak, there's no way some stuffed teddy bears could—gweh?!"
"Hans!"
"These aren't normal teddy bears!"
The bears surrounded the beginners and stomped them underfoot. By the time this was over, the kids would probably have a lifelong teddy-bear trauma.
"It's fine, but I don't know how effective it'll be. My bears are surprisingly serious about this, you know?"
True enough. Goblins and orcs would have been crushed in a single blow. So the weapons had to go.
"Beat them just short of death. No weapons."
"Yes. Wait—beat them?"
"Yeah. We'll keep looping for twenty-four hours. That way they'll grow some guts and a little durability while trying to stand up to the bears."
It was a crude method, but I had neither the time nor the desire to keep them around long enough to play full-time mentor. Better to finish this quickly.
"What exactly are you trying to raise them into?"
What else?
"Strong enough to lead a town watch and join up if war breaks out in the Empire. Demon-class should do it."
Getting them past the beginner stage was good for keeping the Demon Realm in check, but I also wanted insurance for the future.
"And if they're from the Kingdom?"
"Even if they're Kingdom citizens, the Empire and Kingdom have a mutual defense pact. Kingdom troops will come to support us. Their regular army is pathetic right now, so they might pad the ranks with former adventurers. As nobles of the Kingdom, of course they'd join too."
If the Empire ever looked like it might lose to that White King guy, we'd need the Kingdom's help. The moment war started, these three would be forced into the fight whether they liked it or not. So they needed enough power to take down either the White King's army or the demons of the Four Heavenly Kings. Hunting Demon Realm monsters should be enough.
"Wow, Lady Olivia really is terrifying. You're already thinking about war? You think that White King will start one?"
"People forget their place sometimes. Someone who steamrolled a bunch of small nations can get drunk on victory and reach for something bigger. The Empire looks like it's at its peak, yet the nobles have left it rotten enough that everyone knows it."
A perfect target, wouldn't you say? There was already precedent for half-bloods founding empires, and in the ancient era plenty of great nations had fallen the same way. Maybe that era was returning.
The White King might not aim for the Empire on his own. But the moment the Four Heavenly Kings got involved, the story changed. Whether Clanis or Seto, they'd use the White King to smash the Empire.
"From a conquering monarch's perspective, it would be worth the risk."
"And the Four Heavenly Kings could be right behind him. I don't know about Seto, but Clanis hates the Empire, so if war breaks out she'll definitely show her face."
Whether they intervened or not, the Four Heavenly Kings would appear sooner or later.
"As for Pector..."
"I still have no idea what that one wants."
"He just said fighting you was fun."
That was exactly what made him weird. The question was how he would move next. Or maybe, now that the Demon King was dead and the chains were gone, the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King no longer mattered to him. I hoped that was the case.
"Honestly, we've only clashed a few times."
"Well, you two went from strangers to something more like a man-and-woman relationship, didn't you?"
He was strong, no question—formidable even without his Authority. That was probably how he'd obtained it in the first place. Berna had been quite the powerhouse back when she was still Bernoa, too. If he ever fathered a child, it wouldn't be ordinary.
It had been a long time since Noah became Olivia. I understood what this body was for. If I seriously wanted a powerful mage's bloodline, it wouldn't be impossible. But not with Pector.
"Even so, I have no intention of bearing a demon's child."
"Ah, well, that's..."
I knew what she wanted to say. I had absorbed a fragment of the Demon King myself; I couldn't really call myself human anymore. Celia was probably fretting over the possibility that I might actually get involved with Pector. Looking at it again, though, Pector was nothing more than someone I'd grown a grudging fondness for—nothing beyond that.
"I know what you're worried about. But it's ridiculous to even make excuses. Right now I have no intention of tying myself to anyone."
"Noblewomen are supposed to marry around this age. Or at least get engaged!"
"I have no such plans. And if I suddenly went sex-crazed and decided to marry a man, do you really think the Emperor would just sit still?"
When that thing first entered me in the library and I became what I am now, there had been... possibilities short of marriage. Those possibilities meant nothing to me now. Knowing that, I could cut off every future path in advance. Besides, when it came to marriage there was also the Light Sword. And Celia herself. The second an engagement candidate appeared, that man's head would probably hit the floor in seconds.
Anyway, the matter was already decided.
Thud! Thwack-thwack! Wham!
Meanwhile the incompetent party was getting thoroughly worked over by the teddy bears. The sight of the bears knocking them down and stomping them from every angle like street thugs out to ruin someone was downright terrifying. You could almost believe the stuffed animals had wills of their own.
"Aaaah! These teddy bears are insanely strong! What the hell is with these things?! Do something!"
"Do something? I have no intention of helping."
"Huh?"
Why the shocked face? Wasn't it obvious?
"Your goal is to beat them."
"What kind of training method is this?!"
"It is training. At least those teddy bears won't kill you."
Unlike monsters, the bears wouldn't finish them off. That difference was crucial—there was always a chance of winning.
"How are we supposed to train if we get beaten this badly?"
"I'll provide potions. Just one sip and you'll feel your strength return."
"Uuuugh..."
Stop whining. Athelina's vermin had managed this much.
And so the training began.
"Hah... hah... We can do this. Nobody give up!"
"Yeah! Hans is right. We can pull through!"
"All right, let's go!"
On the first day they put on a textbook display of the classic harem party—passionate displays of camaraderie and all.
By the second day they seemed to have figured out the situation.
"I get the idea. Follow my lead."
"Okay. We'll follow Hans."
"Leave it to me!"
On day two they at least formed a proper formation based on their bond and started responding halfway decently.
Day three brought a subtle shift. By then their bodies had adapted enough to counterattack the bears, but things took a strange turn.
"When you shoot arrows, please step back first!"
"What, I'm trying to help and you're turning me down?"
"That's not what I meant! Just shoot from farther back!"
"Hans, you stop charging in blindly too!"
On the third day they started passing the blame. In other words, they started fighting among themselves. Taking beatings from teddy bears while arguing with each other was almost impressive. It meant they could now endure the bears long enough to bicker.
"Uh, isn't this dangerous? If they split apart..."
"Yeah. At first glance it looks bad. Nothing's more dangerous than internal division."
"Then...?"
"But if I want them as strong as I need, having the three of them combine into one functional unit is no good."
Party members are supposed to cooperate against monsters. That's the common wisdom. Internal strife is dangerous for any force, and for parties that risk their lives against monsters it's the same. But if that was all they learned, how would they fight when they were alone?
I didn't want them strong only when they fought together. I wanted them strong enough to stand alone. For that, a period of infighting was unavoidable. Once they finally reached the level where each of them could repel the bears on their own, they would naturally come back together. Even while fighting, they'd instinctively feel they still needed one another.
And so on the fourth day—half out of their minds—they finally succeeded in beating the teddy bears.
"You finally won. In that case..."
"Huh?"
This time teddy bears carrying wooden clubs appeared, looking for all the world like street thugs. They even swayed on their feet a little.
You still have a long way to go.