The Letter and the Black-Haired Girl
I received a sword from Taron and headed to an empty clearing to swing it. "The swordsmanship I learned is completely unusable now."
No matter how light the blade was, wielding it properly with an unfamiliar left arm and a right arm that refused to respond was simply impossible. "Still, it's not entirely meaningless. Once my left arm gets used to this, I should at least be able to handle a single demonic beast."
Even though I'd retired from being an adventurer, the world rarely moved according to my wishes. Preparing to respond to any situation, no matter how small, seemed like a good approach.
How many days had I spent swinging the sword like that?
One day, Doren came looking for me with a bottle of liquor in hand.
"Hahaha! Even with your arm like that, you're still the same sword-obsessed fool!"
"I told you to cut back on the drinking, old man."
"Eat shit."
Doren brushed off my advice as if it were ridiculous and held something out to me. It was a letter.
"What kind of letter is this?"
"What kind? Obviously it's from Katia. She replied to the letter Taron sent."
"Hmm."
I took the letter with a slight sense of dread. Doren, having done his part, wandered off to drink again. I wiped away my sweat, sat down in a shady spot away from the sunlight, and carefully unfolded the letter.
To Ray.
Stay right where you are and wait. I'll be there soon.
— Katia —
"Her blunt personality hasn't changed at all."
I'd been worried the letter might be filled with curses, but it seemed she wanted to say whatever she had to say in person rather than through writing. "I wonder what she wants to talk about."
Other than an apology, I didn't really have anything I wanted to say. For some reason, I also felt like I shouldn't mention the connections I'd made during my adventurer days to Katia.
I carefully put the letter away and went to Taron's house, but he wasn't there. Thinking he might be at the training grounds on the outskirts, I headed that way.
"Fix your posture."
"Swing again."
"Start from your feet."
As I got closer, I could hear Taron's voice. In the training area, the village children and young men had gathered according to their ages and were receiving instruction from him.
Taron, who had been deeply focused, noticed me.
"What is it? Ray?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
"No, it's fine. I was about to call for a break anyway."
At Taron's command, everyone set down their wooden swords and collapsed where they stood. The training ground filled with the sound of heavy breathing. I used to be just like them back then. When I smiled faintly, Taron approached and gave my shoulder a light pat.
"How's the rehabilitation going?"
"It's going smoothly. I've gotten a bit more used to it compared to when I first started swinging."
"Is that so?"
While talking with Taron, I tried not to pay attention, but my gaze kept drifting anyway. All the other trainees had collapsed to the ground, but there was one girl with black hair who stood perfectly still, her breathing completely steady, staring at me with piercing eyes.
In the end, I asked Taron about her.
"...I've never seen her before. Who is she?"
"Ah, that child? Her name is Tiar. She came to the village after you left. She's an orphan, just like you and Katia."
"I see. But why is she glaring at me like that?"
"That's..."
Just as Taron was about to explain, Tiar strode over with heavy steps and spoke to me with fierce eyes.
"Are you the one called Ray?"
"Yes? Ah, yes."
"Trash."
"Excuse me?"
"Enemy of women. You piece of trash."
"......"
For a moment, I was at a complete loss for words. Taron shook his head and said to me,
"This is your karma. Deal with it yourself."
With that, he walked away as if to avoid the situation. Left alone with her, the two of us stared at each other in silence.
Eventually, I asked cautiously,
"Have we... met before?"
Tiar shook her head.
"This is the first time."
"Ah, I see."
"......"
"......"
Her utterly confident attitude left me speechless again. Tiar's eyes grew even sharper.
"So this is the face."
"...Pardon?"
"The one that Katia unnie waited for all this time."
"Ah..."
The pieces finally clicked into place. This girl idolized Katia. In that case, I really had nothing to say.
"But at least you seem to know you did something wrong?"
"......"
"Do you have any idea how much unnie cried?"
"When... I meet her, I plan to apologize..."
"Do you know how desperately she waited for your letters!?"
"......"
I truly had no response. The fact that even sending a letter to someone I felt guilty toward had felt like a burden was nothing but an excuse. In the end, after leaving this village, I had simply kept running away. Looking back now, it had been a foolish decision.
"Fight me. Let's duel."
"......"
"You come back looking like that and now you want to meet unnie? How much do you think Katia unnie will cry when she sees you like this? Just get lost instead. Don't even look at her."
"...I can't do that."
"What?"
"I need to meet her properly and apologize."
"Ha, what a shameless man. Pick up your sword."
Tiar walked over to where the real swords were stored and drew one. As the situation grew serious, Taron tried to intervene.
"Tiar. Stop this. As you can see, Ray is in no condition to fight."
"Why should I consider my opponent's circumstances? Especially for a piece of trash like him?"
"Tiar..."
I approached Taron, who was trying to stop her.
"It's fine, sir. I'll handle it appropriately."
"No, I'm worried about you."
"I know. It's okay. Even in my current state, I can manage this much."
"What?"
Taron looked at me in disbelief. He acknowledged my talent, but he had no idea what kind of growth I'd achieved over the past ten years. I could understand why he was surprised.
Taron approached me with a concerned expression and whispered,
"Tiar's talent is on par with yours... No, when it comes to sheer venom and competitive spirit, she surpasses you. She's not an opponent to take lightly. If you're going to fight, at least use wooden swords..."
"It's fine. No one will get hurt."
I walked past Taron and looked at Tiar, who was waiting with her sword drawn. During the wait, her attitude seemed to have shifted somewhat.
"I'm not used to real swords. If you get hurt while fighting me, Katia unnie will be sad, so if you back down now, I'll let it go..."
"You said she had venom, but the moment Katia gets involved, she softens up. Tiar."
"What?"
"If you draw your sword and then let your heart weaken, you won't be able to beat any opponent."
I drew my sword with my left hand in an instant and closed the distance to Tiar.
"!"
She was impressive indeed. Just as expected from someone Taron had acknowledged. It must have been a speed she'd never seen before, yet she instinctively blocked it by a hair's breadth. But showing such an opening against me...
"Ah!"
Tiar let out a gasp. All her focus had been on the sword right in front of her, and I easily swept her leg out from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground. The entire sequence of judgment and speed had happened in a single breath.
As the sword in Tiar's hand rolled across the ground and the result became clear, the training ground watching our duel fell into sudden silence. Moments later, the trainees snapped out of it and erupted into excited chatter.
I picked up the fallen sword and handed it to Taron. The usually composed Taron had his mouth wide open in an expression I'd never seen before.
"...I-I can't believe it."
Suddenly, the question Taron had asked me at the tavern came to mind.
"Was the adventurer life enjoyable?"
It had been such a sudden question that I couldn't answer then, but now I felt like I could.
"It was worthwhile, but it was hard, sir."
"Hm? What was?"
"Never mind."
From somewhere, a sobbing sound could be heard.
"Hic... ugh... sob..."
It was Tiar. She was covered in dust from head to toe and crying. When I looked surprised at the unexpected turn of events, Taron glanced at me and let out a small chuckle.
"Didn't I tell you? Her venom and competitive drive surpass even yours."
Tiar suddenly jumped to her feet and approached me. Then she spoke carefully.
"...Thank you for the lesson... you son of a bitch."
"What?"
"I heard you only started using a one-handed sword recently, but that was truly amazing. Though you're still a piece of trash."
"Uh... um..."
I couldn't tell if she was trying to compliment me, insult me, speak formally, or casually. It was all mixed together.
"But!! I can say this with confidence! Even if your arm had been normal, you would never have been able to defeat Katia unnie!"
"R-really?"
Katia. Just what happened while I was gone? Did the girl who had no talent suddenly awaken or something? Even Taron had kept quiet about the reason...
"And..."
Tiar bit her lip and continued.
"I will definitely surpass you!! You can act all smug for now!! From now on, I'll train ten times, twenty times harder!!!"
"Ah."
For a moment, Tiar's fierce determination sent a chill down my spine. Anyone standing before an overwhelmingly strong opponent would naturally have their spirit dampened at least a little. I hadn't shown it, but I'd experienced that many times. Yet the girl before me showed no such signs at all. On the contrary, she was throwing her entire being at me. She would definitely grow even stronger. Perhaps by the time she reached my age, she might even become stronger than I was...
"W-what is it... suddenly smiling like that..."
"Huh?"
It seemed I'd unconsciously let a smile slip. It was because her figure as a swordsman was so admirable and beautiful.
"Ha, s-so this is how you seduced Katia unnie..."
"Hm? What did you say?"
Tiar had spoken too softly for me to hear clearly. She muttered with a look of frustration.
"A-anyway!! I will definitely surpass you!! So wash your neck and wait!"
"Sure, sure."
Watching her flushed face as she left the training ground, I felt a small sense of joy. Returning home was truly the right choice— I thought.