Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Translator : Elizabeth
When my legs trembled, I swung the iron bar that substituted for a sword. When the arm muscles reached their limit, I started running again. Arms, legs, arms, legs, arms, legs. Truly a torture carving away the body alternately. Although it was a body reasonably hardened by farming work, just overworking muscles without a set goal was sufficiently painful.
“Heu-uk, kuh….”
The taste of fresh blood is felt amidst ragged breathing. How long has it been since I overworked my body to this extent? Even when harvesting the field alone, it wasn’t this bad.
“That’s it for today.”
Only when the sun completely set did Grandpa Gent open his tightly closed mouth.
“Don’t forget to come tomorrow too.” “Yes, heh….”
The old man telling me not to forget to come tomorrow in a commanding tone. Holding my chest, I barely leak an answer. Do I have to receive this kind of torture tomorrow too?
“Are you okay? Grandpa was a bit harsh, right?” “U-ot….”
Leaving the old man entering the house alone behind like that, Haley supported me who was almost on the verge of exhaustion. A feeling like a solid pillar is supporting me. I burst out admiration from my mouth unknowingly. As expected of a Ruby-rank adventurer, Haley handles me, who is bigger than her, lightly. Ideally, I wanted to say I’d walk alone because of the sweat smell, but if I did, it seemed my legs would give out and I’d collapse. Even if sorry, let’s borrow her shoulder a bit.
Sounds of people are heard on the dark street. Drunken rambling of a person enjoying intoxication at an outdoor table. Adventurers clanking their equipment while having a late meal. Nonchalantly mixing into that scenery, I asked Haley who lent me her shoulder.
“Grandpa Gent, did he do that to you too?” “Uh, well… he was a bit kinder than that.”
To the question thrown in an exhausted state, Haley answers while scratching one cheek awkwardly with her index finger. It seems he was a bit kinder than this. I knew it, there were personal feelings involved too.
‘That old man….’
While leaking faint resentment inwardly at Haley’s answer. Suddenly a certain scent wafting on the night street tickled my nose. This is, the smell of meat…? As I turned my head inadvertently toward where the smell wafted, not long after, Haley turned her steps to the side. A fate where I have no choice but to follow even while staggering. The place Haley sat me down was a low railing on the roadside.
“Stay seated, I’ll go buy something to eat.” “Uh, okay….”
After seating me and organizing my disheveled hair, Haley says she’ll buy something to eat heading to the street where light reaches. I leaked a listless answer to such Haley. Today ended up finishing with physical training somehow. Surely today was scheduled to be an enjoyable holiday….
Sitting down, I knead my calves and knees where pain is felt alternately with my palms press press. However, even doing that only makes my shoulders throb again. Eventually, I gave up suppressing the pain and took my hands off. Since my hands even tremble rattle rattle as if having tremors unless holding something, staying still was the best policy.
“Did you wait long?”
Soon time passed…. Haley returned with brown bags soaked in oil filling both hands.
“Sorry, people gathered a bit….”
What was so urgent to run hurriedly like that huff huff. The words she said as soon as she returned were a few words of apology. Just buying something thinking of me is something to be grateful for, what is there to be sorry about.
“It’s okay, do they sell anything at night?” “Skewers, and a little pie.”
As I showed interest in the contents inside the bag along with the words saying it’s okay, soon Haley took out foods from the bag and sat next to me. Street food eaten somewhat pitiably sitting on a low curb on the roadside. The saltiness seeping into the tired body and the moistness of the piece of pie couldn’t help but be truly stimulating.
“Delicious.” “Right? There must be a reason for shops with many people.”
Haley returning several times more even to short and plain impressions. She wasn’t the type to talk this much when she was young.
With such impressions, we ate up all the food at the seated spot, and decided to get up before the chilly air cooled our bodies cold.
“Ha… do I have to do this kind of thing every day.”
While going home still receiving Haley’s support. Suddenly the thought that the same routine would continue tomorrow entered, and unconsciously a complaint leaked out with a sigh.
“S-Surprisingly stamina is built quickly!”
Haley adding words to the lament not expecting an answer. Although that confident face was a little comforting…. Conversely, the vivid pain remaining in my arms and legs seemed to shout not to talk nonsense.
“I wish it were so.”
I know even while saying it. That ‘quickly’ Haley says is at least a few months. If I knew it would be like this, I should have run a few big laps around the village when I was free after finishing field work usually. It’s already too late to regret. I’ll be tormented by Grandpa Gent for the next few months. Those words that days feel different once you hit your 30s. Once I ignored them snorting in childish youth, but now walking the same age, I could realize.
‘This is, the body of a 30-something….’
While returning home with such bone-deep realization. Instead of me who was half a corpse, Haley headed to the bathroom first and said.
“I’ll prepare bath water, please sit for a moment.” “Okay.”
I answer obediently to Haley’s quiet request. A situation entrusting even things I would have said I’d do normally. That much, today’s training wasn’t familiar, and actually, it was quite a burden on the body too.
“All done!” “Thanks.”
Still, since it wasn’t to the extent I completely couldn’t walk, at the two words saying it’s done, I got up and headed to the bathroom.
“By any chance if I go in together and wash you…?” “No, that can’t happen.”
Haley saying absurd words as I opened the bathroom door. At the few words seemingly sounding me out, I flapped my hands and closed the bathroom door saying.
“I know you’re worried, but it’s not to that extent.” “…Che, understood.”
Sullen Haley is visible through the closing door gap. Why is she disappointed about such a thing.
“Phew….”
Short sigh, the air that was cold is covered with warmth. It’s okay even if the hand lifting the basin filled with water trembles. Soon as hot water stream poured down from the head, the unpleasantness remaining on the coldly cooled body disappeared in an instant. From hygiene concepts close to modern times to several facilities. This world looks similar to medieval times but is subtly different. Well, thanks to that I could adapt well, though. If filth overflowed on the streets like real medieval times, or rat swarms and the Black Death were rampant, it would have been a big problem.
‘Thinking like this, rather training is better.’
How many people did they say died from the Black Death in total? I didn’t remember the exact number, but it’s probably far more than the number of people killed by monsters here.
After finishing the bath simply with various miscellaneous thoughts, I changed into the clothes I brought in advance and came out. Haley turns on the fireplace, but that alone is insufficient. Wearing clothes thickly indoors when the weather gets chilly is one of the few countermeasures against cold in medieval times.
“I’m out.” “Yes, I prepared everything so just lie down and rest.”
Giving the signal that I came out of the bathroom, Haley guiding me toward the bed in thick attire. While Haley was out for adventurer work, I prepared various things including meals. That was our routine decided implicitly without a word of agreement, but a situation where that broke today.
“I feel sorry for no reason, couldn’t even prepare dinner.” “Heh, it’s okay… the opponent is Grandpa.”
Looking at such Haley, I apologized uselessly, but Haley said it’s okay as if implying I didn’t need to decline. Since the opponent is Grandpa Gent, it can’t be helped. Honestly, I think those are a hundred times correct words.
‘Thinking about it….’
I, dumped Haley on that human quite boldly, didn’t I? If things went slightly wrong, I would have become pulp on that spot. Probably at the time, due to the Slave Prohibition Act, I couldn’t see anything and didn’t know how precious life was. It was a period where I was truly reckless in many ways. Now that I’ve become a middle-aged man, I don’t even have such guts.
“You must be tired because of training, sleep quickly.” “Yeah, thanks.”
As I tried to cover myself with the blanket recalling passed years, Haley’s affectionate voice echoed reassuringly. The moment I put my back on the fluffy sheet. Click, the sound of the bathroom door closing is heard. If possible, I wanted to hold onto consciousness until Haley washed and came out, but the body where fatigue reached its peak seemed not to allow that. Beyond the consciousness drifting away as if fainting. To think what is waiting there is the same training.
‘Don’t want to do it….’
A sad yet futile impression flowed in my heart. However, whether I did or not. The sun in the sky brightens as always regardless of a person’s mood, and despite the tearing muscle pain, I had no choice but to head to the old man’s house.
The old man who was waiting in the yard from broad daylight. Haley couldn’t accompany saying she would do adventurer work. Still, saying the Mister would likely be exhausted even without seeing, she said she would come to pick me up or something…. She left leaving only words that wouldn’t be comforting at all. Today too, I guess I’ll only run and swing endlessly.
“Hey, what magic did you say suited your aptitude?”
Just when I was steeling myself for that. Suddenly the old man showed interest in magic and asked.
“Ah, if it’s that, surely… was it earth, or soil?” “Hmm, earth you say? Then not bad.”
Tracing back the mana measurement result I wasn’t even interested in and barely recalling it, Grandpa Gent walked to the corner of the yard with an interesting groan.
‘What is it, not running today?’
As I followed him sluggishly scratching my neck bewilderedly, the old man grabbing something in the corner of the yard.
“Take it.” “What is tha… uk!”
An object thrown before I could confirm what it was with my eyes. That which poked my stomach at a fast speed before I could grab it in my hand was a wooden stick of appropriate thickness and quite long length. As I barely steadied my body that almost fell over for a moment, the old man spoke firmly without a gap to wait.
“Anything is fine, try using magic with that.” “Yeees…?”
A dumbfounded voice flowed out due to absurdity. The old man throwing some stick and abruptly ordering to try using magic. What kind of nonsense is that to a person who doesn’t even know what magic exists. Rather if it were fire magic, I would try shouting ‘Fireball!’ abruptly.
“Um, I don’t know what magic exists….” “Did I tell you to use something amazing? Just check if you can use it or not, just try flowing mana into the ground.”
When I said I didn’t know what magic existed, the old man telling me to flow mana first recklessly as if frustrated. I mean, how do you use that…. What’s different from telling a person to wag their tail. Brain stopping and hardening stiffly was brief.
‘By any chance, trying to teach me magic?’
Still, the story that Grandpa Gent can use magic is news to me? Haley never talked about magic separately either, and for now, I haven’t seen him using it while knowing him.
“Kugh-eum….”
I don’t know any sensory parts, but for now, I closed my eyes, poked the stick into the ground, and pretended to give strength. Around the time I was only spitting out groaning sounds at the vague demand. Suddenly, I felt a sensation of my whole body cooling down coldly. A clear flow inside the body, not external stimulation.
‘U-ot…?!’
Startled by that, I opened my eyes; a handful of a mound that definitely wasn’t there before closing my eyes had risen near the ground where I poked the stick. Was that which I just felt, mana? While looking at the small mound with a bewildered face.
“Done, now run holding that.”
Following that, a firm voice was heard from the old man’s side. Grandpa Gent suddenly telling me to run holding the stick as is.
………. ……. ….
‘…Huh?’
Momentarily lost my mind so I couldn’t say anything. Run you say? Suddenly? At this point? The head clearly understood the meaning of the words, but a situation where the brain cannot make a confirmation whether what it understood is correct.
“What are you doing? Have to do what needs to be done.” “Ah….”
As I stood blankly, a few words popping out again. Only then did a deep sigh mixed with understanding flow out. Aha, still doing that, are we? Expected for nothing.