Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Southern Kingdom (2)
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They called it a swordsmanship training hall, but we'd simply hung up a sign saying swordsmanship instruction available and were waiting for customers.
The place couldn't even be called a dojo—it was just an ordinary family home.
Irena and I had remodeled it ourselves, but all we'd managed was to set up a human-shaped dummy.
It was embarrassingly crude, nothing worthy of being called a training hall.
Naturally, no one came to our little hall.
"No one's here."
"Let's be precise. It's not that there are no people—it's that no trainees are coming to our hall."
He had a point.
We hadn't done any proper promotion after remodeling the house into a hall, so of course we had no customers.
"The remodeling's mostly done. Should we start advertising?"
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
"I've got something in mind."
I wandered the city, looking for people who seemed interested in swordsmanship.
Finding talent wasn't hard.
Anyone intrigued by the sword would at least swing around a stick like it was one at some point.
And in this city, quite a few people fit that bill.
Swordsmanship was seen as one of the common paths to rising in status in this kingdom.
The reason it held such a position was simple.
It was all thanks to Delgaria's policies.
The royal family aggressively scouted anyone showing talent with the blade.
It wasn't kidnapping.
When they took a child, the family always received generous compensation.
And if that child actually became a real knight? Social advancement was all but guaranteed.
In short, it was a way to bolster military strength against the Empire.
That was exactly why I'd decided to open a training hall.
'Time to set up shop in the big leagues.'
I already had my number-one instructor lined up.
I glanced at Irena.
She was drenched in sweat, hugging the ice spear tightly.
The first recruit was a boy.
I cautiously approached a kid I'd had my eye on for a while.
He was practicing with a roughly carved wooden sword.
I quietly stepped into the alley where he was and spoke up.
"Nice stance. Did someone teach you?"
The boy flinched and turned to me.
He was about thirteen, with short-cropped black hair.
A flicker of wariness in his eyes, but it softened when he saw my face, and he nodded slightly.
"...I peeked at what they teach at the nearby training hall. I'm just copying that."
"That's impressive without a master. Such a shame to waste it."
Right now, I was playing the part of a retired mercenary with a backstory.
A guy who'd made his living with the sword but stepped away for... certain reasons.
I hadn't spread the rumor myself, but that's how it was circulating.
Irena was the noblewoman who'd fled from the North.
There was no reason to deny the rumors, and little benefit in doing so.
I just rolled with it.
And it worked more often than not.
Like now.
'If I looked like some traveling merchant from afar, he'd probably snap, "What do you know?!"'
I examined the wooden sword in the boy's hand.
It was crudely carved, but the balance was decent.
"Don't you want to learn swordsmanship?"
"...No money. If I had any, I'd have started already."
"No money needed. Just bring your body—and if I had to pick, your talent."
His eyes wavered at that.
"I've got a training hall. No students yet... but I can guarantee results."
We even had a top-tier instructor who specialized in this—eleven years slaying Great Beasts.
That evening, I brought the boy back to the hall... which was still pretty shabby.
Irena welcomed our first trainee.
"Oh, Ian. Back sooner than I thought. And who's this...?"
"Our monumental first student."
"What's your name? Want some tea?"
"...Nile. And no thanks."
Nile's eyes sparkled as he looked around the room.
Even though it was just that one crude dummy.
I positioned him in front of it and slowly demonstrated.
"Swordsmanship starts with the basics. And those basics are rooted in your lower body."
Northern training camps taught the Convergent Sword Style as standard.
Different name, but it was basically the Three Disasters Sword Form from wuxia tales.
Just with a few extra moves.
I dredged up what I'd learned up North and taught it to Nile.
Whether it satisfied him or not, he started showing up every day after that.
I kept scouting beyond Nile.
Starting with his friends, then a cousin, the kid next door.
Trainees multiplied.
Then the rumors started spreading.
The rumors were straightforward: a retired mercenary's free training hall where you actually got stronger.
Sure, "if you like free, you'll go bald"—but when paying customers weren't improving and this place delivered for free? Different story.
Kids flooded the hall, no room to step.
Those with no money, even ones from pricey halls—they all came our way.
Word spread fast, and enrollments at other halls began to drop.
The established places fell into chaos.
Some lost over half their students overnight; some instructors outright trashed us, calling it a scam.
Nothing changed.
Weeks passed, and numbers swelled by the day.
What started with one crude dummy now ran morning and afternoon sessions.
Eventually, Irena made a simple schedule and training plans.
"Feels like we're getting really busy, huh?"
"That was the goal all along."
"I'm fine if you are. But space is getting tight."
The hall was packed, even split into two sessions—standing room only.
I moved fast and bought a bigger house and plot.
We relocated the hall there and turned the old one into our home.
"This is better. A house is for just the two of us anyway."
Irena looked genuinely pleased.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Lower your stance. If your toes give first, your center follows."
"Uh... yes, sir!"
"Before swinging your arm, read your opponent's shoulder with your eyes."
"...Is that even possible? If you're watching shoulders, you get hit."
"It's not just watching—watch and move."
Southern sword styles focused on combat forms and patterns over real fights.
I exploited those gaps perfectly.
Practical, battle-focused instruction earned quick acclaim, and soon our hall's reputation spread across the city.
Interest poured in; visitors noticeably increased.
"Noble parties in Delgaria usually start after dusk."
"There's a caravan from another kingdom in recently."
"If you're a foreigner... never go near the Blue Whale Tavern. It's basically a..."
Info came from trainees' chatter and rumors.
I plucked what I needed.
"Heard there's been disappearances in the neighboring city lately. Kids are the main victims."
"They say the dead walk at night. Scary, right?"
"Not at all."
"Tch. No fun. How about this? The cemetery's being dug up every night—actual corpses rising."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As evening fell, red sunlight seeped through the hall's window cracks.
The clack of wooden swords faded; sweat stained the floor like blotches.
Time to send trainees home and tidy up.
"Your beard's grown out a bit."
Irena eyed it.
"Suits you, but might scare the kids. Don't make that fierce face—too intimidating. They'll cry."
"...Did they?"
"One did yesterday. No frowning. Smile more."
I smiled at Irena.
"Good. But save that for me. Try something else."
"?"
I tilted my head, then made another face.
A mushy smile, eyes squinted shut.
I turned to her, keeping the half-closed eyes.
"How's this?"
"Totally different vibe. Kinda shady."
Irena grinned slyly.
"Not bad... but can you even see?"
"I can."
Vision's a bit dim, but it's there.
I could maintain it.
"Maybe I'll compromise on this."
Irena muttered to herself, then nodded like she'd made a big decision.
"Alright. Use that for the kids. For me... yeah, that one."
I chuckled and let it slide.
We'd just finished tidying and were heading home when—
Nile burst through the door.
"Teacher! Teacher...!!"
Nile was soaked in sweat.
Must've run straight from home.
The vibe was off—just from a glance—and Irena's face hardened.
"What happened?"
"Kids from... from another hall..."
"Another hall?"
"They're attacking our kids...!"
Our faces went blank in unison.
"?"