Is it too much to ask to be supported by a spoiled older instructor? - V2 - Chapter 1 - Elt Kuraint (3)
- Home
- All
- Is it too much to ask to be supported by a spoiled older instructor?
- V2 - Chapter 1 - Elt Kuraint (3)
Translator: Xean
Editor: Ryuubii
TN: It has been far too long since I uploaded. So sorry for that, got hold up with websites and everything. Thanks for understanding~~
I went out into the yard and sparred with the instructor. It was both my recovery training and the instructor’s warm-up before work. You could say it was a daily routine.
After the spar, I see the instructor off to work.
Since I didn’t intend to go into combat today, I should work on my household chores as a servant.
Thus, I did the laundry and cleaned the house.
Then I went to the orphanage. I entrusted the care of the abominable children to Sharon, who also lives there, but she is often busy as a musketeer, so there are times when she is not at the orphanage. I’m not free either, so I can’t take care of them all the time, but I do go to see them like this a few times a week, and today was one of those days.
“Oh, it’s Theo-niichan! Hihihi, are you scheduled to show up today?”
At the foot of the mountain, there was the orphanage in the suburbs of the instructor’s house. When I arrived at the gate, a boyish black-haired girl noticed my presence and ran up to me.
She was one of the orphans named Lana. She turned her back on me and called out to the orphanage’s front yard.
“Look here, everyone! Theo-niichan’s here in the flesh! Ain’t it great!”
She spoke as if she was bragging.
I’m sure she wouldn’t talk like that to her fellow orphans, so I wondered if an outsider was in the orphanage.
As I turned my attention to the front yard, I saw another group of children I didn’t recognize standing there among the orphanage children. Since their eyes are not red, does that mean they are not abomination children?
“Lana, those kids are?”
“You know, Theo-niichan, they’re from the nearby village! We’ve recently become friends!”
So they came from the nearby village. It’s a friendly village that understands abominable children and sometimes donates vegetables to this orphanage. It was probably only a matter of time before the children and the orphans became friends like this.
The children of the village gathered around me, their eyes shining with excitement. The children from the orphanage, including Lana, looked happy, albeit not being praised.
“You know! Theo-niichan is so strong! So we’re going to show you that our family is strong! Let’s go to the forbidden place!”
Lana said and started to lead the village children out of the orphanage.
“Wait a minute. Where do you think you’re going?”
“There’s a cave near the village that we’re not supposed to enter! We’re going there now!”
“Stop it. It’s dangerous.”
“We’ll be fine! You worry too much! See you later, Theo-niichan!”
Lana and the village children ran off.
“Will it be all right?”
Mimi, the second oldest orphan after Sharon, whose trademark is a quiet personality, muttered anxiously at my side.
“Theo-niisan, I’m sorry to ask you this so soon after your arrival, but could you please go check on them?”
“Alright.”
I agreed and decided to follow Lana and the others.
On the way, I stopped at the village to gather information on why the cave was not supposed to be entered.
“That place is where the unseen lurks.”
I was told that by an older man who was working as a farmer.
“It’s something that doesn’t show itself but lurks there for a long time.”
“That’s why it’s forbidden to enter?”
“Yes. But why do you ask?”
“Because that’s where the children went.”
“What did you say!?”
The older man, who had chinky eyes, widened in surprise. It appears to be a grave matter.
A cave where the unseen lurks─
《Something》 that doesn’t come out in the open but prefers the dark.
(No way─)
If it’s what I think it is, then I’ll have to hurry.
“Can I leave the children in your care, please?”
“O-Of course! You don’t need to ask!”
“Before I do, may I have these firecrackers?” (TN: Yes firecrackers, ED also asked why is there one? Perhaps because there’s a festival?)
“I don’t know how it could help but take as many as you want!”
After I got the older man’s approval, I ran off in the direction of the cave. I ran at a careful pace so as not to run out of energy, and when I eventually reached the entrance to the cave─
“Uwaaaahhhh!”
─Someone rushed out from inside the cave.
It was the children from the village.
They ran up to me as soon as they saw me, sobbing or with shocked expressions on their faces.
Did they somehow manage to escape on their own? ─No, Lana’s missing!
“T-This is awful! I knew we shouldn’t have gone in there…!”
“What happened to Lana?”
“She-She stayed in there to fight. To get us out…!”
“Stupid, doing something so crazy…!”
I rushed into the cave without a second thought.
That something lurking in the cave─
If my prediction is correct, it is probably a demon.
It also belongs to an odd-numbered species.
An unseen demon that hates the light and prefers the dark.
Codename 《Shadow》 – It is a demon classified as a one-winged demon that can mimic darkness.
A person who doesn’t know how to detect it will be tormented, especially in this environment.
“Lana─!!!”
After a while, I found Lana, who was unable to move and covered by something invisible.
“Theo… niichan…!”
It was the《Shadow》who was oppressing Lana, who was screaming in agony.
So I took out a firecracker from my pocket, rubbed the leads against the cave wall, and set it on fire.
Then I threw out the firecrackers.
“Lana! Cover your ears!”
Immediately after saying that, the firecrackers went off. There was a series of loud explosive sounds. Especially since it was inside a cave, the sound reverberated, and even though I was covering my ears, the roaring sound still pierced my brain.
Then an apparition appeared.
A black ape-like being appeared above Lana, who was covering her ears.
─It was 《Shadow》.
《Shadow》, who prefers this kind of environment, basically has weak eyesight and instead has unusually well-developed hearing.
That is why 《Shadow》have a weakness for explosions. Of course, the sound of firecrackers is not the only weakness they have, but research has shown that shadows with abnormal hearing are unable to use their ability to mimic darkness after that.
That’s why all I have to do is to hit the main body, which is in full view.
I immediately closed the gap between the Shadow and me, swinging my fist at its face. I kicked it in succession after it floated in mid-air due to the uppercut.
I closed the gap once again with the Shadow, who had been blown up and slammed into the rock cave walls, and using a fallen tree branch as a sword, I stabbed the Shadow between its eyes as hard as I could.
《Gugyaaaaa!!!》
That was the last sound the Shadow let out.
“D-Did you defeat it …?”
“Yes.”
While nodding, I thrust a tree branch into its heart as well, just in case.
“It’s alright now.”
“─*Sob* I was so scared…!”
Lana jumped into my arms and hugged me. I stroked and patted her head at the same time.
“That’s exactly why I told you not to go into the cave.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Now let’s get out of here.”
With Lana in tow, we headed out of the cave.
The children of the village were waiting for us, and they were happy that we were safe.
Together with the children, I headed to the village. We saw that the villagers had gathered in the square as if word from the older man had spread. As soon as they caught sight of us, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you-, thank you very much. The children of the village are safe thanks to your valiant efforts, Theo-dono. A young hero, a seven-winged prodigy, those names aren’t for show.”
The older adult, who seemed to be the village chief, bowed to me.
The adults around praised me, saying, “Thank you,” and “You’ve done an excellent job,” but I felt ashamed.
“No, the responsibility lies with us. Lana here led the village children into the cave and put them in danger. That, in turn, is my responsibility. I apologize.”
“P-Please stop. If you say that, then it’s the fault of the village children who told Lana about the cave and then took their offer. Anyway, Theo-dono did not do anything wrong. You should be proud of your skills in saving the children.”
“Thank you for being considerate.”
“No, no, Theo-dono, you are a very kind person. You all must strive to be like Theo-dono.”
The village chief spoke to the children, who nodded their heads in agreement.
And as I was on my way home, the village chief offered me something I hadn’t expected as a thank you gift.
“Is it almost time for the Heavenly Saint Festival in the Imperial City?”
“Yes, the city is slowly being decorated.”
“That’s nice. That’s right, Theo-dono, please accept this as a token of our gratitude.”
The village chief held out a dagger in its sheath.
“This is…?”
“One of the master craftsman’s creations.”
I was taken aback by the village chief’s words.
“Master Craftsman…you mean Elt Kuraien?”
Far from being the most excellent blacksmith of this era, that man was called the most excellent blacksmith of all time.
A highly regarded master craftsman among the public – that’s who Elt Kuraien is.
He’s also someone I know.
“Why do you have a dagger made by the master craftsman?”
“Last night, I took care of the master craftsman in this village.”
“Took care of him?”
“I heard he lost his home.”
It’s unthinkable that the master craftsman is in trouble.
“He looked troubled, so I took care of him overnight. He left this morning and left me this dagger as a thank-you.”
“W-W-Wait a minute. You mean the master craftsman was in this village?”
“Only for one night.”
I envy him. Although I’ve known him, I had never met him face to face. In the first place, he was a man shrouded in mystery, and all of his personal information was unknown except for his name.
I, including the common musketeers, do not know his true identity.
“In any case, that’s how I got the dagger.”
“Are you sure you want to give me such a thing?”
“Rather than being a treasured possession in a remote village, I thought the dagger would be happier in the hands of a young hero such as you, Theo-dono.”
“But…”
“Eyy… It’s alright. Now, take it.”
He pushed the dagger onto me, which was said to be made by the master craftsman.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“By the way, are you sure that it was the master craftsman?”
“Well, I don’t know. I only heard the supposedly master craftsman say so, so I can’t prove it. However, if you look at the dagger, you will see that that question is stupid. If he can make something as wonderful as that, then he must be the master craftsman without a doubt.”
As I listened to the village chief’s words, I pulled the dagger out from its sheath.
It was indeed a piece of art that I could not help but fall in love with.
“What kind of person is the master craftsman?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that. Because the master craftsman keeps everything to himself, and I don’t think it’s right for me to talk about it.
“I guess that’s true. Then I would like to thank you for this dagger.”
“Yes, please take good care of it.”
So I left the village with Lana, having acquired a dagger made by the master craftsman.
After that, I stayed at the orphanage for a while and then returned to the instructor’s house.