“So, we have selected the people who will gather information for now.”
Vroom—
“Ah… Kumaaaaan!!!”
Clang-!
“To me, it seems like just a pup, but… perhaps you’re worried about leaving the master and mistress’ side… Still, compared to me—your shoulders are a bit slumped. Hmph, although not as good as me, it seems they have some skill.”
“Well done, huh!!”
Ching! Cling!
The sound of metal clashing loudly with sparks flying didn’t even make Gordon break a sweat as he calmly continued reporting.
In contrast, Dariann, who had been swinging his axe but couldn’t land a solid hit, was drenched in sweat, his arms sore and his legs shaking.
It had been a week since Gordon had volunteered to become Dariann’s swordsmanship (though Dariann had never even touched a sword) instructor.
By now, daily training in the sparring grounds had become routine.
On the first day, Rosaria, who had been dragged along, was still in the period of running and building basic stamina, so she stumbled out after finishing her sprinting and strength exercises.
Meanwhile, Dariann, still full of energy, said today was the day he would land a hit, but—
“Alright, we’ll stop here for today.”
“Ugh… Damn it! How come I couldn’t land even one hit today?!”
In the end, all of Dariann’s attacks were blocked cleanly, and upon hearing Gordon’s announcement of the sparring session’s end, he immediately collapsed on the floor, shouting in frustration.
“Even so, your skill has improved greatly in such a short time. I, too, can no longer spar with you using only my bare hands. I need a dagger now.”
“But you’re still just blocking with it—nothing’s changed…”
Gordon, as if to encourage Dariann, raised the practice dagger in his hand, but it wasn’t enough to lift Dariann’s spirits.
“Heh…”
‘It seems it’ll take a while before he understands the significance of holding a dagger instead of using his bare hands.’
However, Gordon was sincere.
For someone like him, who could easily subdue opponents without even needing a weapon, wielding the practice dagger, though blunt, was a declaration of intent to kill the opponent, or at the very least, a sign of acknowledging their skill.
Over the past week of sparring with Dariann, Gordon hadn’t said much, but every day had been a shock.
When they first started, it was like a disorganized beast charging at him.
Now, it was like a beast that had sharpened its teeth and claws, attacking its prey with precision.
Dariann’s rough movements had transformed into sharp, fast, and practical ones.
His posture had also improved, and as his stamina supported him, he was able to adjust the axe handle skillfully, changing his reach with ease.
At this point, Dariann’s skills were enough to handle the two soldiers from the Red Fang who surrounded him back when he first went to their hideout with Freya.
In a one-on-one fight, unless it was the man who had been Fenril’s right-hand man (the one who had threatened Gordon back at the Red Fang’s hideout), Dariann could easily defeat anyone.
“So, if your skills have improved this much, when will you ignite that blue flame?”
But Dariann’s goal wasn’t just to beat opponents with his axe; he sought to summon a sword aura with mana.
“Hmm… to be honest, the sword aura also requires the user to awaken their mana.”
“How do you do that?”
“The magic used by a mage to manipulate mana and the sword aura created by a swordsman are fundamentally the same. You need to gather mana in your heart and use it.”
“The difference is that magic draws mana out of the body to cast spells, while the sword aura strengthens the body from within.”
“So, basically, you need to awaken your mana in order to use magic or sword aura.”
“Then, should I explode mana stones like my son did?”
“…Well, Lord Felix is special. What he did is hard to explain, and it’s risky and almost impossible to replicate.”
As they discussed awakening mana, Dariann brought up Felix, and Gordon responded with a bead of cold sweat, visibly uncomfortable.
Felix’s attempt to awaken his mana was as reckless as jumping into a fire to gain immunity to burns.
It was known that most people would end up as ashes just trying, but Felix actually jumped into the flames and came out perfectly fine, which left Gordon speechless.
“So, in the end, I can’t use it?”
“The safest and most effective way to awaken mana is through meditation to find the root of the mana.”
“Come on, I don’t know how to meditate.”
“Other methods include experiencing life-threatening situations or near-death moments, which can trigger mana awareness. That’s why many sword aura users come from mercenaries or soldiers.”
“…This is complicated.”
“Most people naturally realize their body’s structure through meditation and training, and then gradually awaken their mana.”
“How long does it normally take?”
“Usually, it takes several years.”
“Ugh!”
In the end, Gordon’s statement that awakening mana required years of consistent effort every single day pushed Dariann’s patience to its limit.
“…Sigh, getting angry won’t change anything.”
“Learning to wield a sword requires building a solid foundation, Master.”
“Tch, forget it. So, today’s lesson is over, right?”
“Yes. But, perhaps…?”
“This is a secret from that person. I’m just going to get a drink to refresh myself.”
Dariann, who had been rolling on the ground, stood up and gestured to Gordon to keep it a secret by placing a finger on his lips.
“Owner! Get me something refreshing!”
Without waiting for a reply, a man wearing a hood burst through the door of the tavern, which was just beginning to prepare for the day, and loudly demanded an afternoon drink.
“…It’s not even time for the kettle to boil yet, why is he here?”
“What do you think? He came for a drink.”
“Wait a moment.”
The owner of [Gryphon’s Claw], Sen, shook his head and laughed at the man’s entrance but quickly went inside to bring out a cold ale.
“Here you go. Next time, try coming at night. It’s hard to prepare snacks at this time because we’re usually getting ready for lunch.”
“Well, as long as there’s cold drink, that’s enough. I can’t come out at night anyway.”
As Sen placed the glass filled with ale in front of the man, he complained, but the man simply smiled in response.
‘That hidden passage is quite well-used.’
The secret passage Dariann used when looking for Common when he tried to escape.
These days, Dariann had developed a habit of sneaking out through the secret passage, wearing a hood to conceal his face and enjoy a drink outside, avoiding Freya’s warnings.
But at night, he had to return home.
“Ugh… The nagging is worse than before, it seems.”
“Well, if you were my husband, I would’ve kicked you out of the house.”
“Ugh…”
In a typical family, it was usually the father who got nagged by the mother.
But in their case, it was the opposite: the mother nagged the father constantly.
She was always meticulous and dedicated to housework, and when she was a housewife in the modern world, her nagging was quite severe.
She could be doing something rough and having a drink with colleagues, but it was always the same with her.
And whenever he tried to argue back, she would counter each point logically, leaving him with nothing to say.
But back then, if the mood was right, a kiss on the lips would often make her relent, but now it felt a little awkward to use that method.
‘I’ve received plenty of confessions from women, but I’ve never felt attracted to any of them…’
Her husband, now in a woman’s body, and herself, now in a man’s body.
Though their genders had switched, their souls remained as a married couple, so they were still living together somehow.
But since coming to this world, they hadn’t shared a bed yet.
Back when Dariann was a student, despite being a woman, she often displayed a strong, masculine persona and had received confessions from several girls her age.
But she never felt attracted to them, so she rejected all of them.
However, since entering this body, things had changed.
‘I understand now, really. It moves exactly like it should.’
Though she was still a woman, for some reason, whenever she looked at Freya, a strange sensation below started to feel tight, and it had been happening more often lately.
But she felt nothing for the other women, the maids, only for Freya, her spouse.
Yet, even though she was in a male body now, when she tried to be intimate with her husband, her body would freeze up.
‘Should I really try it? But if I end up pregnant… wouldn’t my husband be carrying my child? Wow, that would be a comedy.’
“Ugh, I’m so hungry!”
“Owner! Two of whatever comes out quickly!”
“Rye bread and stew! Hurry!”
As she listed her thoughts one by one, sipping her drink, the tavern, which had been empty, started to get noisy as sweaty men began to enter one by one.
After Freya’s cleanup operation in the alleyways, the old buildings that were difficult to reuse were being torn down to make way for new ones, and the people of the territory had been mobilized for construction.
“Oh… I’m dying of exhaustion.”
“But at least the pay is steady, right?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not even harvest season yet, and there’s no money, so I’ve been eating nothing but oatmeal for days, but when I bought meat yesterday, my wife’s eyes nearly popped out.”
“By the way, food costs have gone down, so my wife says we’re saving money.”
“Yeah, it’s true. It seems like the higher-ups have really changed things around.”
“They say when the new buildings are finished, they’ll be rented out to the locals cheaply, and people can open stores there.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Yeah, unlike the tavern here or Smith’s forge, we’ll have to pay rent every month, but it sounds pretty good, right?”
“Yeah, it does. Maybe this territory will really get better.”
Sweating and stuffing their empty stomachs with the cheapest food, the men’s faces were full of smiles that reflected their hope for the future.
“…Hmph.”
Though Dariann didn’t feel much like a noble or the master of the territory, she couldn’t help but smile as she overheard the workers discussing how their lives were improving.
Watching the lives of these struggling people change for the better was always a pleasant sight.
Though in truth, Dariann had done little in all these changes; most of the work had been done by Freya.
But since they were a married couple, Dariann took pride in Freya’s work as if it were her own.
While the tavern was bustling, sipping ale alone.
Crash—!
The tavern’s front door creaked open again.
It seemed like another worker was arriving for lunch, but it was a bit different.
His pupils were wildly shaking, and his face was filled with confusion.
His voice trembled, and he couldn’t get the words out.
The noisy tavern fell silent as everyone, including Dariann, turned their attention to the man.
And then—
“Fire!!! There’s a fire!!!”
The man finally managed to speak, and his words were terrifying.
A fire.
As his shout echoed through the tavern, Dariann instinctively jumped up and rushed out without thinking.