CH 2.19

High Elf and Sword Princess

Translated by Mlzkzr

Edited by Mlzkzr

Sitting in front of a furnace in a forge I rented from the union, I focus my mind as I interact with the spirits of fire dancing in the burning flames.

Yes, it’s a very energetic fire spirit.

Today, or rather for a while from today, I will reforge Kaeha’s sword, create my sword, and then strike a few un-bladed practice swords of the same weight and close balance as those swords.

Kaeha said she developed her current swordsmanship with the Yosogi-ryu as the foundation which she learned as a child.

In other words, if I think about her current situation, I can naturally guess the content of her training.

That is, the only practice that can be done by one person, would be practice swinging and form training.

I haven’t learned how to use the sword from Kaeha yet, and I’ve only heard what was said about the Yosogi-style lightly, but I’m sure that my guess is correct.

And as I can see from the sword Kaeha entrusted to me, she uses this sword for all of her practice, even for her practice swings and form training.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this sword is a meritorious contributor to Kaeha’s swordsmanship.

But if she wants to rebuild her dojo, I think she should use training tools for training from now on, so I decided to prepare some of them for this occasion.

Kaeha’s sword is a straight sword with a blade on only one side, a type of falchion or grossmesser, which is rarely seen around here.

The Yosogi-ryu is a sword technique that came from outside the Kingdom of Ludria and took root here, and it originally used a slightly different form of weapon, perhaps a katana-like object.

However, in the Kingdom of Ludria, swords of that type were not available, so this form of a sword was used as a substitute.

In fact, my teacher is a master Dwarf craftsman, so I’ve learned how to make a katana, at least in part.

So, I can manage to forge something close to that, but even if I give it to her, I am sure she will just be puzzled.

After more time, if she becomes more interested, I can forge her with a new one, or if she wants, she can start trying it first.

For now, without changing the weight and balance of the sword, let’s reforge it to improve its quality.

I woke up early in the morning, ate breakfast prepared by Kaeha’s mother, and first went out to the forest to collect some medicinal herbs.

Medicinal herbs that are highly effective on the lungs don’t last that long, so it was necessary to collect them every day if possible.

However, even though the forest is close to the royal capital, it is not a place where one can just drop in for a casual stroll, and if one has to go back after collecting the materials, it will already be past noon before one can return even if one leaves early in the morning.

Therefore, I had a light lunch at a food stall and headed directly to the blacksmith shop I rented.

Then I would hammer iron until night, and after returning to Kaeha’s house to eat and bathe, I would prepare a day’s worth of medicines by infusing herbs for her mother.

After that, it’s already sleep time for the next day’s collection.

Yeah, I don’t have time to practice my sword completely.

However, this would of course be temporary.

Once the sword is finished, I can reduce doing blacksmithing to once or twice a week, and once Kaeha’s mother’s health returns, there will be no need for me to gather medicinal herbs.

I feel sorry for Kaeha, who was so excited to have an apprentice, and I feel even more sorry as she seemed to be worrying about her training plan, but I hope she waits just a little longer.

Well, let’s finish the sword of Kaeha first to put her in a good mood, and when I gave it to her first, she would be very impressed, so it will probably be okay for a while.

The blacksmithing will be finished in a few weeks, and Kaeha’s mother’s health is getting better, as the Apua fruit and medicinal herbs seem to be working, so maybe in a couple of months, there will be no need for me to pick medicinal herbs.

She seems to have a weak constitution to begin with, so I can’t let my guard down, but her coughing has stopped and her complexion has improved, so at least I know her lungs are healing.

Both Kaeha and her mother are quite grateful for that, and they treat me well in many ways.

The training hasn’t even started yet, but it’s going well in the sense that one by one, the problems are being solved and I can see what’s ahead.

And just as my blacksmithing days were about to come to an end, a letter arrives from the town of Vistkort.

Yes, it was the reply from Cleias.

In case you are wondering, here in the Kingdom of Ludria, there are two ways to deliver letters to distant places.

One is to leave it to a merchant they’re familiar with and the other is to hire an adventurer.

A merchant, even if it is a merchant with a store, is the one who is in charge of distribution in relation to making purchases.

For example, a store that sells wheat in the neighborhood does business with neighboring villages, and under the umbrella of a firm with a large warehouse, purchases from them and sells their wheat.

So, although it is a store that sells wheat, if you entrust them a letter with some money there, it will reach the neighboring villages, even though it will take a long time.

Conversely, a reply letter will also reach the store through the firm.

However, this method is not suitable for exchanging letters secretly, since letters will not be sent to individuals living in the village, but are given to the village head collectively.

Even if you seal it with wax, some village chiefs may insist that they have the right to check it and open it.

Therefore, when I want to send a letter that I don’t want others to see, or when I want it delivered as quickly as possible, I hire an adventurer, even though it costs a certain amount of money.

Letters entrusted to a union where adventurers gather are carried by adventurers who move from town to town, and from there, they are delivered by adventurers who further perform chores in town.

Alternatively, although it will cost more money, you can appoint a trustworthy adventurer and entrust him or her with the task of taking care of the letter and delivering it.

Especially if it is an adventurer you nominated, he or she will be able to accommodate detailed conditions, such as that it be delivered in person and not to a family member, or that it be delivered within a certain number of days.

The person who brought me the letter from Cleias was an adventurer from Vistkort, whose face I also knew.

In other words, Cleias went out of his way to send a nomination request and had this letter delivered directly to me.

I thanked the adventurer for carrying the letter, asked him what was the recent state of Vistkort, and then offered him some money as a souvenir.

I am sure he received a fee from Cleias for transporting the letter, but since he still went to the trouble of traveling all the way to the Royal capital, even if he took this, he wouldn’t be punished.

Well, Cleias’ letter said that he would take on the role of nailing the Rhodoran Great Swordsmanship’s dojo down, so if any problems arise, he said I can contact him before I destroy the dojo.

It seems that he will send a letter soon after that, but he also plans to visit the Royal capital to nail the Rhodoran Great Swordsmanship’s dojo in person, although it will be about half a year before he can do so due to his work commitments.

He also said he would be happy to meet and talk with me at that time.

……Fumu.

What in the world does he think I am?

I don’t want to blow up their dojo out of the sky just because I was getting a little angry.

Well, it’s a different story if something really bad happens, in which case there will be no time for me to inform him by letter, so this request is useless.

But Cleias will come directly, huh.

Having retired from being an adventurer, he still wants to be involved with adventurers, so he works as a swordsmanship instructor at the Adventurers’ Guild in Vistkort.

Maybe he wants to see my current living situation.

But Cleias is a swordsman who uses Rhodoran great swordsmanship.

Hence, I wonder if it is safe to let him see Kaeha and her mother.

He was already an adventurer in the town of Vistkort when the incident happened, so he had no involvement in the matter.

Nevertheless, logic and emotion are two different things, so it was unclear whether that would convince the girls.

Cleias, though from a different school, is a swordsman who has climbed to far greater heights.

If Kaeha could have a friendly relationship with him, it would be a great source of encouragement for her, though. ……

But even if I worry about this and that, it would be of no use.

For the time being, I’ll let Kaeha and her mother decide whether they’ll meet him or not, after telling them that Cleias is coming to nail down the Rhodoran Great Swordsmanship Dojo, and let them decide for themselves.

If that seems impossible, I can get a room at the inn where Cleias will be staying that day.

When it comes to a relationship between me and someone else, I sometimes push things too hard.

The relationship between someone and someone else is too delicate and difficult to touch.

I can understand why elves and high elves are so reluctant to go outside and stay inside, but only a little at times like this.

Yes, just a little.