Drifting, Pochi
Pochi's Point of View
We arrived at the country of Shiverihas. As I gazed at a somewhat familiar town, I pondered how this commotion came to be.
In the end, it must have been because we came with dragons. There's nothing more conspicuous. While I was lost in thought, a little girl spoke to me.
"Oniichan."
"Hm?"
"Paula!?"
The girl's mother looked as though she might faint, yet she steeled herself to protect her child if necessary. She's a kind mother.
"What is it?"
I crouched down to the girl's eye level to avoid alarming her mother and asked gently.
"Oniichan, are the dragons your friends?"
"Ah, yes. My Oneechan is actually closer to them than I am, but these dragons are indeed my friends."
Since I’m close with Kou and Rulan, that’s not a lie.
"Really? How do you become friends with them?"
Friends... Snacks, maybe? Rosarin Oneechan befriended the crystal dragons with sweets, so maybe snacks?
"Well... by feeding them— I mean, by sharing treats. But be careful. Dragons are diverse creatures, so don't approach them recklessly. Here, take this. Oneechan made these treats. Share them with the dragon and see."
"Okay!"
When the girl gave a treat to the dragon, other kids came out too. Thinking this might improve the dragons' image, I handed out treats to the kids and let them feed the dragons.
"Young master, we must head to the castle."
Bernard-san spoke to me. Come to think of it, quite some time had passed.
"General Bernard!?"
General? Who? As I was bewildered, Bernard-san made a bold proclamation.
"Make way, everyone! This man is none other than Prince Portforio, son of our current King!"
"The prince!?"
The townspeople murmured in astonishment. Wait, why did he reveal that!? Rosarin Oneechan muttered under her breath, "Unnecessary," and even Oniichan mumbled something!
Bernard-san, run! Just run for it!!
"Long live Prince Portforio!"
The townspeople's cheers grew louder and louder until it became a roar, and they cleared the way for us.
I wanted to faint... As I waved with rolling eyes, I resolved to flee at full speed.
Uh, Rosarin Oneechan? Why did you bring out such an overly enthusiastic ride? This doesn't need to be a parade!?
[Long live Prince Portforio!]Wait, my name is Portforio? That's so long!!
The dragons shifted to their human forms. If they had done that from the start, we wouldn’t have stood out so much... But regretting it now was pointless. The dragons weren’t at fault.
As we walked through the castle, a beastman with white and brown fur—was it a dog? No, a wolf?—blocked our path.
Judging by their clothes, they seemed like a noble. Their fur was well-groomed... Are they someone important?
"If you wish to meet the king, you must defeat us first!!"
"”Then, we won’t hold back."”
"Pompadour!!"
"Extension!!"
Oneechan and brother swiftly took down the two beastmen.
It happened so fast that I stood frozen for a moment.
"Oneechan, Oniichan, you can’t attack strangers out of nowhere!"
"They said to defeat them. Besides, I thought it would serve as a good lesson."
"Exactly. For idiots, violence is the quickest way to make them understand."
Their smiles were dark! What kind of lesson!? That’s not necessary! We’re just here to see our parents and leave, aren’t we!?
"Rosarin."
"Ru-sama."
Thanks to two mediators, Oneechan and brother calmed down.
"Um, are you okay?"
I gave them Oniichan’s special healing salve.
"Tch... This time, we’ll let you have the win..."
"But can you win next time!?"
Wait, what next time!?
I almost rolled my eyes again. I can’t keep up with everyone’s pace. I don’t understand anything anymore.
This time, we were taken to what seemed like a training ground.
"A king must be strong!"
"Show us your strength!!"
"Should I do it?"
"Hmm, I’ll be fine."
It seemed they wouldn’t let me meet my father until they were satisfied, so I stepped forward. I’m no longer the little kid who hid behind Oneechan’s back, trembling.
The duel would be overseen by a knight, so I didn’t have to worry about unfair judgments.
Tsuyoshi is my weapon—mine alone. He understands my intentions and delivers the optimal solution. I’ve learned how to truly use him since then. All that’s left is to apply it in practice. Tsuyoshi transformed into a large brush. I intended to use it as a staff.
"This is my weapon. As you can see, it’s non-lethal, and I’ve hardly trained with any other weapons. May I use this?"
"Very well. I am Ruchese Siberian! Let us duel!"
This Ruchese person attacked with a longsword training blade.
Hmm... He’s not bad, but...
How do I put it... He’s unpolished. His movements are inefficient and sluggish. Compared to Fake-Jend dad... Sorry, but he’s weak.
I parried, deflected... and quickly got bored. As he tired, his strikes became sloppy.
"… Hey."
"Urgh..."
With a light tap, he fainted.
"Winner... um..."
"Pochi."
"The winner is Sir Pochi!!"
"What!? He’s not Prince Portforio!?"
"Is he an imposter!?"
No, I was just called that Portforio-whatever name arbitrarily. I’m Pochi.
"That’s incorrect! Pochi is Prince Portforio’s nickname! It was the name adopted when he went into hiding!"
Oh, is that so? But I’d prefer to just stay as Pochi since it’s shorter...
"I see. My apologies for doubting you. Prince Portforio, your skill is impressive. May I challenge you next? I am Shees Siberian! Let us duel!!"
"Alright."
Shees’ weapon was a battleaxe, though it was a training blade. It looked heavy enough to cause injury if it hit.
To be honest, Shees was about the same level as Ruchese, which felt underwhelming. This wouldn’t even serve as combat training.
Also, I don’t think the weapon suits him. He’s being slightly thrown off balance by its weight.
"Hey."
"Urgh!"
One strike was enough. For someone who seemed confident in their strength, isn’t he kind of weak? Then again, even Ru Oniichan, who’s bad at fighting, instantly took them down, so maybe they weren’t strong to begin with?
This won’t prove anything about my strength.
"Are there any stronger opponents?"
"Then I shall face you."
A muscle-bound beastman, comparable to Jend’s father, stepped forward. Judging by his impressive armor, he seemed important.
"Commander!?"
"It’s been a while since I’ve faced a worthy opponent. Please allow me this match."
"Ah, okay."
I wanted to say I’m just an artist and not a fighter, but the commander’s intimidating face made me hold back. His weapons were a longsword and shortsword, dual-wielded.
"Begin!"
"Uoooohhh!!"
"Ugh."
Yeah, the commander was stronger than the others. But... if this is the level of the knights’ leader, isn’t that a problem?
Still, he was a good opponent to test against. I easily deflected and parried his dual swords.
Then, I lured him in.
"Activate!"
"Whoa!?"
The commander was trapped by the formation I had discreetly drawn on the ground. I’ll need to simplify it for practical use.
"Ugh..."
"This formation is unbreakable. Please surrender."
"… I see. You weren’t even fighting seriously."
The Knight Commander slumped his shoulders. Yikes, he noticed! I immediately bowed my head.
"I-I’m sorry!"
"No, it is I who should apologize for failing to draw out your full strength. You are skilled and efficient, fighting with minimal effort."
To be honest, my lack of stamina forces me to fight like this unconsciously.
"I want to fight too!"
"Please spar with me!!"
More and more knights began challenging me to matches. Thinking it’d be fine, I carelessly agreed, which was probably a mistake. I got carried away, thinking I was strong.
I should’ve remembered from Rosarin Oneechan that overconfidence always leads to regret. Apparently, I hadn’t learned my lesson.
What do you think about this chapter?
