Chapter 18
That very day, after checking out of the inn, I ended up staying in the guest room of my new master Kaeha Yosogi's house.
For all that I thought it might be taking things a little too far, she said, her eyes shining brightly, that looking after one's disciple was a master's duty, so I reluctantly gave in.
Despite her initial caution, once she let me in, she became surprisingly close.
Presumably, back when Kaeha was a child, the senior disciples used to live at the dojo, so she had come to assume that was simply what disciples did.
As for that notion of hers, I felt it would be best to correct it promptly, before rebuilding the dojo—in other words, before accepting any other disciples.
Kaeha's mother, who had been waiting at home, also looked somewhat bewildered by my sudden presence.
As for Kaeha's mother, she was suffering from a chest ailment.
Apparently, she had never been particularly robust to begin with, and after her husband died and the dojo was destroyed, the strain of slowly living off their remaining assets had gradually weakened her body.
Kaeha's street performances had apparently been how she earned money for her mother's medicine, but when I looked at the medicine, I saw that it was merely a decoction of herbs from the forest, so I decided to gather the herbs for her future doses in a nearby forest.
After all, I was a high elf, so gathering medicinal herbs was child's play for me. I could easily find herbs with far better effects, too.
The trees would tell me where to find them.
For now, I ground up an Apua fruit and had her drink it.
The undying Apua fruit invigorated the body, so it would surely work far better than cheap medicine, at the very least.
I also sent off a letter to Vistcoat while I was at it.
The recipient was, of course, Clayas, the former White Lake swordsman.
A swordsman who had risen to the highest adventurer rank of seven stars was an extremely significant figure for Lodran Greatswordsmanship.
That was why I asked Clayas to put Lodran Greatswordsmanship on notice himself.
I wanted to make sure they would not get any ideas when they saw Yosogi Style trying to rebuild its dojo.
Personally, I had no reason to view Lodran Greatswordsmanship as an enemy.
If they did try to meddle, I intended to deal with them appropriately, but it would be best if trouble never arose.
Of course, Kaeha and her mother probably had their own grievances against Lodran Greatswordsmanship, but even so, I doubted they wanted to pick a fight either.
The next day, I visited the smiths' guild to look for a forge I could rent.
The effect of my advanced smith's license was immediate, and the guild's staff promised to arrange a forge and iron for me at once.
They also asked me to take on several other jobs, but my first priority was reforging the sword of my master, Kaeha, followed by making my own sword.
If the other work could wait until afterward, I thought I would take on a few jobs, since I did not want my smithing skills to grow rusty, either.
On my way home, I went from shop to shop, buying the things I would need for my new life while drawing information from the clerks and shopkeepers.
What I wanted to learn was how Yosogi Style related to the two schools besides Lodran Greatswordsmanship: the Rudelia Kingdom School of Swordsmanship and Glend Style Swordsmanship.
Clayas would presumably put Lodran Greatswordsmanship on notice, but I had no idea what the other schools might do.
Any number of obscure schools might come after and crush one of the former Four Great Schools to make a name for themselves, and even the Rudelia Kingdom School of Swordsmanship or Glend Style Swordsmanship might view Yosogi Style's revival as an unwelcome development.
If I had no way of knowing what might happen, securing enough information to predict it was extremely important.
On the other hand, my appearance as an elf was extremely conspicuous, so if I gathered information this way, word of it would spread quickly.
An elf is backing Yosogi Style.
An elf has become a disciple of Yosogi Style.
Once that information spread, if anyone harbored hostility or ill intent toward Yosogi Style, I could guide their actions.
In short, I would be the lamp that drew the moths.
If anything happened to Kaeha or her mother, it would interfere with my training from here on out.
Kaeha was important, of course, since she was the one teaching me the sword, but if anything happened to her mother, Kaeha would be in no condition to teach.
I had to protect them both.
Whether that was truly a disciple's role was beside the point. I wanted to do it, so I would protect them for my own sake.
The problem was that, with me running around this much, I had not the slightest time to study magic alongside everything else.
But that could not be helped.
Magic could be learned at any time, but if Kaeha's Yosogi Style was left alone, it would probably eventually disappear altogether.
Besides, my own heart was currently leaning toward the sword rather than magic.
So it was perfectly fine to take up magic after the situation changed—or even ten or twenty years later, once the sword technique had taken shape within me.
Just then, a wind spirit whispered into my ear and told me that someone harboring ill intent was approaching.
I turned sharply and fixed my gaze on the approaching man. The shabby-looking fellow, probably a pickpocket, flashed an awkward, ingratiating smile before hurrying off.
The royal capital was, as expected, somewhat less safe than the town of Vistcoat.
People flowed into it from every corner of the Rudelia Kingdom, and some of them lost their way and fell into poverty.
When people fell on hard times, quite a few of them were driven to the idea of taking their livelihood from others.
Vistcoat had not been genteel, since many adventurers there challenged the Purha Great Forest, and the people were rough around the edges, but I felt that many of them had been warm-hearted.
A change of place changes people.
As I turned those words over in my mind, I walked slowly through the royal capital.