Heading Home
The end-of-class bell rang, and everyone returned their weapons to where they had found them. It was impressive how they did it properly without being told.
In Japan, even adults would sometimes "borrow and never return" things, or miss return deadlines until the store contacted them, or even return things to the wrong place. But these kids, all elementary-school age or younger, cleaned off any dirt and returned things in pristine condition.
“Vio, Mr. Alke’s here again today, right? I’ll go call him for you!”
“Oh, I want to thank him for yesterday too! I’m coming!”
Lun and Nachi dashed out of the classroom. I still had my body enhancement spell active, so I could probably manage stairs, but… whatever, it’s fine.
“You know,” Kathe said, standing beside me as I got ready to leave, “I looked into it after what you told me yesterday. And I heard Mr. Alke, who was a high-ranking Silver adventurer, often used immobilization magic. I was surprised—but it made sense.
I used to think wood magic was kind of plain, but if you’re doing escort work, then it’s not always about attacking. Support roles are important too. So, I’ve decided to focus on immobilization magic for a while in our magic classes.”
Kathe was only eight years old, and yet she had already realized the value of supporting roles over flashy achievements. That was impressive.
Her dream was to become a knight guarding the Margrave. If she could master magic that hindered enemy movements, that would surely put the Margrave at ease too. After all, enemies that required knights to be mobilized were either hordes of monsters or large bands of thieves.
I didn’t quite get why she was thanking me, but when I said, “If you tell your father about it, I bet he’ll be happy,” she replied, “I will!” and left the room looking pleased.
"Well, howdy there, Vio! Looks like you've wrapped things up."
Dad greeted me with a happy smile as he met me at the training grounds, having exchanged a few words with Kathe near the entrance.
“Ah, Alke,” said Mr. Edel, “that girl couldn’t use any of the weapons here yet, so I told her just to focus on running and building stamina. Teach her some unarmed technique to start.”
"Oh, thanks, Edel. That makes a whole lotta sense. If it's hand-to-hand, I can sure enough show her the ropes.
Vio, looks like weapons are still a mite too much for ya right now. So, I reckon I'll teach ya how to fight without 'em first."
“Ehh, no fair! Uncle Alke, teach me that too! Can you?”
“Vio and Len are gonna do it together~? Then I wanna join too!”
Hearing from Mr. Edel that I hadn’t been able to use any weapons, Dad nodded.
If it were left to me, I might have forgotten to say anything, so I was grateful. And it was true—my dad was really good at martial arts. He looked genuinely happy about it, too.
Just then, Len and Hachi, who had apparently been waiting nearby, asked if they could join in too.
“Uh... you two are still in the middle of finding weapons that suit you, right?
Vio is only doing martial arts because she doesn’t have a usable weapon. If you join in, you’ll end up interrupting her training.
You two are beastkin—you’ve got superior physical abilities. A human child like Vio can’t keep up. Alke will have to adjust everything to match her pace.
If you really want to learn martial arts, we’ll teach you during class time, so be satisfied with that.”
Noticing my dad getting a bit flustered, Mr. Edel stepped in with some advice. For someone usually so quiet, he had probably said a week’s worth of words today alone. Sorry, Mr. Edel!
I don’t think the boys meant to interfere—they probably just wanted to train with me like we did in our other lessons. Still, being told they’d be in the way left them both a little heartbroken.
“Len, Hachi, once I build up more stamina and can keep up with you, let’s train together, okay?”
When I invited them to train with me again someday, their droopy tails perked up and started wagging cheerfully.
“Y-yeah! When that time comes, I’ll be your sparring partner!”
“Yup! Vio was running fine today, but last time you couldn’t, remember? Also, teach me that weird magic sometime, okay? Anyway, I’m hungry, so I’m heading home~”
“Ah! Me too—wait, bro left without me again! See ya, Vio!”
I waved goodbye as the two of them ran off.
Nearby, my dad asked Mr. Edel, “What was that ‘weird magic’ about?” but Mr. Edel just said, “Ask her yourself. I didn’t really get it,” since magic wasn’t his strong suit.
I said my goodbyes to the teacher and headed downstairs.
"Vio, weren't you plannin' on doin' some research today? How 'bout you head on home for lunch first and come on back after? Or maybe you wanna skip that nap today?"
Hmm, what should I do?
I still had my body enhancement magic active, but if I took a nap, it would wear off.
Using the spell twice in one day seemed like too much for now—until I got more used to it, I wanted to stick to once per day.
“Dad, is it okay if I walk home? I still have my enhancement magic on from class, so I want to walk while it’s active. I’ll probably need you to carry me after lunch when it wears off though—would that be okay?”
Of course, he said yes.
I hopped out of his arms, and since he had a message to give to Mr. Taki, he went over to the reception desk.
While I waited, I absentmindedly looked over the request board.
The one I usually take is the herb gathering.
The notes mentioned things like Healing grass, Mana grass, and Ururu grass, with little illustrations. These are all plants you can gather within the village.
I wonder if rarer items can be sold separately?
A butcher posting a dismantling job probably means they got a really big haul, right?
For a professional to request help like that, it must’ve been quite something.
"Sorry to keep ya waitin'. Hmm? Somethin' catch your eye? You ain't quite ready for nothin' beyond herb gatherin' just yet, Vio."
“Yeah, I was wondering if the butcher’s job meant they caught a lot of Big Pigs or something. Also, the hunt requests list the monster names but not the price or points. Why is that?”
My dad opened the guild doors and we stepped outside. Just like yesterday, I asked him to walk normally.
I wanted to see how far I could go without pushing myself too hard while still enhanced.
"Ah, them hunt requests are a bit like ongoing jobs too. Them beasts listed there show up plenty, and for that rank, they're considered fair game."
With Horned Rabbits, the hide, horn, meat, and magic stone are all materials we can sell.
Wolf meat is tough, so only the hide and magic stone are bought.
But depending on how you take them down, the hide can be damaged and unusable. In that case, the price drops and the points too. That’s why those requests don’t list fixed prices or point values.
If there’s a large outbreak or something, a more specific job may be posted—like ‘X beasts for Y Lari,’ that kind of thing.”
Hmm, like in light novels where goblin ears are proof of subjugation, and you get paid per ear—but I guess that’s not how it works here.
Unless goblins do show up nearby, maybe it would be like that after all?
Well, I’m not allowed outside the village yet anyway. I’ll learn more little by little.
What do you think about this chapter?
