In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 269

Chapter 269: The Kukkoro Male Knight and Cross-Cultural Exchange 1

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The meeting with Lady Vanka ended without any agreement. Well, that was something I had expected from the start. If problems could be solved just by talking them out, the elven civil war would have ended long ago. 

In this world, there are quite a few issues that simply can’t be resolved without violence.

That said, it wouldn’t be wise for us to make the first move. Doing so would likely turn even the moderate faction within the “New” against us. In situations like this, it was best to let the other side pull the trigger on the break themselves. Somehow, I’d have to maneuver things so as to split the “New” cleanly into allies and enemies…

Thinking about that, I spent the night in a pit-style dwelling provided by the “New” faction. I had prepared myself for the possibility that Lady Vanka or her subordinates might launch an attack, maintaining a strict state of alert but to my surprise, dawn came without incident.

…Honestly, that was pretty unexpected.

“Kiieeeeh!”

And then, early in the morning, I was slamming a wooden sword into a nearby scrub tree. To be clear, this was an ordinary wooden sword, not one of those dangerous elven weapons with obsidian blades. This was a basic form of sword training known as tree striking. Unless there was a special reason not to, I did this every single day without fail. If I slacked off on training, my skills would rust almost immediately, and moving my body at full power first thing in the morning felt great. It was basically killing two birds with one stone: training and stress relief.

That said, because I shout at the top of my lungs every time I swing my sword, this training was not very popular with the people around me. Among the citizens of Carrera City, I’d earned such dishonorable nicknames as “the diligent lord who replaces the church bells” or “the personification of the rooster.”

“Byaaaah!”

Letting out a pitiful cry, my stepsister Karina was doing the same kind of training. Actually, it wasn’t just her. Quite a few of the knights accompanying us as guards were also swinging their swords in the same way. Most of them were my childhood friends, so after spending so much time together, the habit had rubbed off on them.

“Well now, that’s quite an interesting thing you’re doing, Albert-don.”

As I wiped away my sweat with a towel, an elf spoke to me. It was a familiar face. She was one of the elven elders, an old person who held the same elder rank as Lady Dalaiya and Lady Vanka. That said, as a long-lived elf, she looked no more than a teenage girl.

“That’s a mighty blade you wield. It’s hard to believe you’re a man. If I were two hundred years younger, I might’ve challenged you to a match.”

“Thank you, Vurin-dono.”

I smiled and thanked her. Just like when I visited the “Legitimate” settlement, for some reason my swordsmanship seemed to be well received by the elves. Knowing that, I was deliberately swinging my sword right in the middle of the village. Well, technically this city of Runga was considered a capital. It was a kind of demonstration. In fact, it wasn’t just the elders watching our tree striking. A fair number of elves and crowfolk were also observing us with interest.

…Honestly, it was a little embarrassing.

“If you’d like, how about joining us? Working up a sweat in the morning feels great.”

“I’ll pass. I’m so hungry I feel like I’d collapse if I moved right now.”

Joking as she spoke, the elder rubbed her stomach. But that was probably the truth.

The food situation in this settlement was seriously dire. The daily caloric intake of the elves here was likely less than half that of an average farmer in Liseben. And yet, somehow, they still managed to live so energetically. Elves really were an incredibly hardy race.

On the other hand, many of the birdfolk—like the crows and sparrows—as well as the ordinary hume, looked completely exhausted. Thinking back on it, Lady Uru had actually been fairly energetic when we first met. Most ordinary crows and sparrows were extremely thin, their hair and feathers unkempt. They were clearly lacking in all kinds of nutrients.

Well, it made sense. Even the Elf Potatoes they relied on weren’t available in sufficient quantities. Apparently, too much manpower had been diverted to the war, leaving the fields neglected. On top of that, the “Legitimate” elven soldiers had no qualms about burning fields to the ground. It was utter chaos.

“This sort of thing’s a job for the young ones. How about it, Rin? You want to give it a try?”

The elder called out to a nearby young elf—though judging an elf’s age by appearance was impossible. The elf made a baffled face and asked, “Me, you say?”

“Well, it does look like a pretty interesting training method, that’s for sure.”

Saying that, the young elf picked up a straight tree branch lying nearby. Using the mountain knife she wore at her waist, she quickly adjusted its length and grip, then swung it a few times and smacked it against her hand to test it. Apparently satisfied, she nodded lightly and took a stance in front of a nearby tree with her makeshift wooden sword.

…That was a beautiful stance. She clearly had solid fundamentals in swordsmanship. She was probably strong enough that an average knight-in-training wouldn’t stand a chance. Honestly, weren’t ordinary farmers in Elfenia stronger than the average knight in Galea? What a terrifying country. I really didn’t want to fight these people. Losing in both quality and quantity of troops almost made me want to cry.

“…Yah!”

Unaware of my thoughts, the young elf swung her wooden sword down at the tree. With a sharp crack, the wooden blade bounced off the trunk. She raised her well-shaped eyebrows in surprise.

“I thought this would be like cutting a fixed target, but it’s trickier than I expected…”

She didn’t seem happy about the sword being repelled. She tried changing her swing a few times, striking the tree again and again, but it didn’t go well.

…That wasn’t because her swordsmanship was lacking. It was because her technique was built around cutting living opponents. Elven soldiers didn’t wear the heavy armor that Galean knights did. At most, they wore simple leather armor made from tough animal hides. With swordsmanship designed to fight lightly armored humans, it was only natural that thick tree trunks wouldn’t yield.

“When it comes to hitting trees, Albert-don here’s the senior. Why not have him show you the ropes, hands-on and all?”

The elder said that with a grin. The young elf flushed red and shouted, “H-Hands-on!?”

“Well, still… just from how she swings, it’s clear she’s a capable swordswoman. For a short-lived race like me—on top of that, a man—to instruct her in swordsmanship would be far too presumptuous…”

In this world, men tended to be looked down on. Acting like a know-it-all and giving advice would be crude, and more importantly, it could hurt her pride. That was why I’d held my tongue until now.

“I-I don’t think that’s the case. Even if I’ve outgrown being green, I’m still far from perfect. There’s nothing wrong with learning from someone of another style.”

Contrary to my expectations, the young elf said that while glancing at me. Oh? For some reason, that sounded like a positive response. Well, if she said so, maybe it was fine to lend a hand—or two.

“…In that case, then. I think you’re putting too much strength into your wrist. That grip works when you’re cutting flesh, but logs and armor are extremely hard. If you grip it like that, you’ll hurt your wrist.”

I gently took hold of her wrist as I explained. She nodded, not seeming displeased at all. “I-I see?”

For some reason, her gaze was fixed on my chest. I was wearing nothing but a shirt at the moment, but still… I didn’t think there was anything interesting about a man’s chest.

“You’re close. This is the first time I’ve ever been this close to a man. You smell nice too…”

“…What did you just say?”

“N-no, nothing at all. Anyway, I just swing it like this, right? …Yah!”

After shaking her head vigorously, the young elf struck the tree again. This time, the sword didn’t bounce back. She cleanly followed through. Since she already had the basics down, she picked it up quickly.

“As expected! Keep it up! …Oh, and one more piece of advice, shouting louder feels better.”

“…O-Okay! Got it! Kiiieeeeee!”

Letting out a monkey-like scream, the young elf began mercilessly beating the tree as if it were her mortal enemy. Other elves, piqued by interest, picked up suitable branches and started striking nearby trees as well. Perhaps because this felt different from their usual practice swings, voices began calling out:

“Hey, Albert-don! Teach me too!”

“All right, all right…”

As I demonstrated grips and swings in response to their requests, I smiled to myself.

One reason I’d deliberately started training in the middle of Runga City, practically enemy territory, was precisely to draw the elves in like this. Given their warrior-like values, I’d thought that communication centered around martial arts would be effective. Sweating together, eating from the same pot, there was no better way to foster solidarity.

A full-scale confrontation with Lady Vanka and her group was likely unavoidable. That was all the more reason I needed to bring as many elves as possible over to our side. I absolutely wanted to avoid having the Liseben army fight the elves alone. At the very least, I wanted to stay on good terms with the ordinary elves…

“…Onii-sama is unconsciously seducing people again…”

It sounded like my stepsister was muttering something, but her voice was drowned out by the monkey-like shouts echoing from the elves around us.

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