“What!? You quit!? But Alesia is a Sword Saint. Many people have worked to the bone, striving and struggling, and yet only one person can achieve that title!”

“I see no point in staying in a country that exiled Master!”

It’s a title and job she earned through incredible effort. It can’t be easily discarded. If she’s saying this much, there must be another reason.

“I value this inn more than any title… or rather, I value (Master) more!”

“Eh? Wait…”

I couldn’t quite catch the last part, but…

―――Could Alesia be an inn maniac!?

“This is the place where I come home to!”

Sword Saint Alesia looks at me with determined, serious eyes, with enough fervor to make her miniskirt, which is startlingly short even by maid outfit standards, flutter.

I wish she wouldn’t shake an old man’s spirit in so many ways.

◇◇◇

“Sei!”

“Sei!”

“Yaa!”

“Yaa!”

The next morning, Alesia and I were busy with our morning training.

In the end, Alesia was hired as an employee at our place.

What’s done is done. She must have had various heavy responsibilities. She might have had her own thoughts about it. I don’t know the details. I won’t pry into her past.

What an old man like me can do is provide her with a place to rest now.

The place she mentioned as “where I come home to.” That’s the reason why I’m obsessed with this inn. If this place can be that for Alesia, then that’s fine.

After finishing our practice swings, we engage in a light mock battle with wooden swords, or rather, a spar.

“Sei!”

“Yaa!”

Alesia and I are sparring using our 【Fighting Spirit】.

【Fighting Spirit】is the energy inside the body that has been refined to a higher purity. By doing so, you can gain a bit more strength than usual.

Even so, I’m not like Sword Saint Alesia, capable of various sword techniques; I can only swing down in the 【Single Strike】 style.

In response, Alesia matches me by fighting with the same 【Single Strike】 style.

This is her consideration, as I’m just an old man who runs an inn, not a swordsman.

But is she just humoring me by joining my training? That’s not exactly it.

I know that adjusting one’s strength to match someone of a lower level is also good training.

In that sense, I must be of some use to her.

“Kuh…”

“Guh…”

Every time I swing my wooden sword down, Alesia catches it with a desperate look. Controlling her power must be harder than she thought. It must be difficult to maintain a weak 【Fighting Spirit】 equal to mine.

Just as our training was about to end, I heard the cheerful voice of an angel.

“Baldo-sama~ Alesia~ Good morning!”

It was Liena, coming in for her shift.

◇Liena’s POV◇

“Yawn~ As expected of Baldo-sama~ To be able to train with Sword Saint Alesia in the morning! You really are amazing!”

“Haha, Liena. You’re exaggerating. It was just a standard, textbook spar.”

…But I took a peek at the end, is that considered standard?

The underground passage from the royal castle to the inn was subtly shaking, creaking. I thought it was an earthquake, but it was just Baldo-sama and Alesia’s training.

―――Baldo-sama is definitely not ordinary.

Hehe, I wonder what incredible things Baldo-sama will show me in the future. But first, we must prepare for the opening. That’s right, I have to get Alesia into her maid uniform as well.

When I went to Alesia, she shook my shoulders, very excited.

“Liena! Isn’t it amazing? Master is an expert in 【Fighting Spirit】! He held back for me, but even then, he delivered heavy blows that almost knocked me out one after another. Only Master can give me this sensation!”

Alesia, making noises like a child, had sparkling blue eyes.

It’s quite different from the Sword Saint image I had in mind.

“Hehe, Alesia, you truly respect Baldo-sama from the bottom of your heart.”

“That’s right. Because I learned 【Fighting Spirit】 from Master when I was a child, I am who I am now. There were plenty of people who taught me swordsmanship, but I have never met anyone besides Master who could manipulate 【Fighting Spirit】!”

―――Is that so?

Baldo-sama seems to regard 【Fighting Spirit】 as something common, but this is the first time I have met someone who can actually use it.

It’s probably something only a small number of people can use. It’s clear that Baldo-sama is not just an ordinary old man, but there are still many mysteries about him.

In any case, just as my father said, he is someone Natol Kingdom cannot lose.

“That’s right, and Master is kind to me. He’s, he’s, he’s… cool, too…”

With those words, Alesia looked down, her face turning red.

Hehe, Alesia too, huh? But I am the princess of Natol, and I won’t lose even to the Sword Saint.

“What’s wrong, Alesia? Your face is red. Let me check your temperature.”

Baldo-sama, who had changed into a white T-shirt, came back and handed Alesia a thermometer, noticing something amiss.

Alesia jumped, repeatedly saying she wasn’t hot, but Baldo-sama overpowered her, and she ended up with the thermometer in her mouth.

Well, I’m jealous… I mean, Baldo-sama is quite insensitive to this kind of thing, isn’t he?

In any case, Baldo-sama and the former Sword Saint are crucial to the small country of Natol’s survival. We must not let them go to other countries. First of all, it would be good if the inn’s management gets on track…

As I thought that, the door burst open energetically.

Hehe, we did it♡ It must be a customer.

“Ah, this must be the rumored inn!” “Oh, it’s the place introduced by the Adventurers’ Guild!”

After that, the inn began to fill up with customers, little by little. Baldo-sama looked perplexed.

“Huh? Are customers coming in? Wow, the fliers really worked.”

Of course, it’s not just the fliers’ effect―――it’s the Baldo-sama effect, indeed.