Chapter 213: Deal Completed
“Then we have a deal.”
“Yes. Just leave it to me.”
After our discussion, we decided to accept Lieselotte’s request. The advantage of being able to move openly along the roads was great.
If we were to join as her escorts, we needed to decide our future course of action together with Lieselotte and her party. After finishing breakfast, we planned to discuss our next course of action.
“The first and foremost condition is that we will depart only after Weiss has fully recovered. I don’t want to push that one too hard.”
“Understood. If Sharl continues to treat him, I think the horse will be fully recovered in a few days. I’ll ask for more details later.”
“Yes. Also, we need to select those who will accompany us to Gaelia.”
I nodded to Lieselotte’s request. We were to accompany her to her destination for two reasons. First, to introduce ourselves as escorts to her great-aunt, whom Lieselotte and her group were going to meet. And second, to purchase the necessary supplies for our journey.
The wealth we amassed from the bandits we hunted during the winter had become a huge reserve. According to Decius and Mika’s calculations, even after buying food, clothes, spare weapons, consumables, and enough carriages for all of us, there would still be money left over. We had indeed hunted a large number of bandits.
However, having wealth was one thing; having someone who could effectively use it was another. According to Mika, unless one was a regular customer, many merchants would offer overpriced goods or even try to sell inferior products. Someone skilled in haggling and discerning quality items was absolutely necessary.
At the same time, it was essential to have someone intimidating and skilled in combat. Appearing too approachable could invite unnecessary trouble. An appearance that suggested one was not to be trifled with was important. We had to take that into account when selecting who would go.
“Then… let’s go with Tigar, Decius, Bolts, and me.”
With me, who looks intimidating because of my iron mask and Tigar’s fierce look, we were unlikely to be looked down upon by others. If someone dared to pick a fight even after seeing the two of us, it wouldn’t matter who came in at the time.
Decius and Boltz were in charge of the trading. I was torn between asking Decius or Mika, but ultimately decided on the former. The reason was simple: it seemed better to have at least one non-demon among us.
Lieselotte and Chris didn’t seem overly concerned, but Hilda was cautious about the presence of alien-like beings that were known as demons. Her reaction was more typical, so I thought not having a whole demon group might reduce Hilda’s wariness to some extent.
As for Bolts, I had heard he was the son of a merchant before becoming a demon. I didn’t know if he actually had some abilities of a merchant himself, but he would be more useful than a complete novice. He would accompany us as Decius’s assistant.
“Um…”
“Is there something on your mind? Feel free to speak up.”
“Well… I’d like Lappy to come with us too.”
When I encouraged Lieselotte to speak her mind, she expressed her wish to bring Lappy along. It seemed the young lady was genuinely fond of Lappy. I hadn’t anticipated that she would want Lappy to accompany us, though.
But to be honest, I was reluctant to bring someone along without a reason. Because if we brought her along for no reason, that would be a reason for everyone who wanted to go to town to accompany us as well.
“I can’t make an exception just for Lappy. But… how about this? We’ll draw lots among the younger ones who wish to join, allowing up to two people to come along. Lappy’s participation will depend on her luck, but this is the most I can compromise.”
“Please do that. Thank you for listening to my wish.”
After some thought, I decided to rely on Lappy’s luck with drawing lots. Lieselotte agreed with this plan, so I resolved to make the draw later.
With that, the general direction was set. All that remained was to work out the details, but we couldn’t move until the white horse fully recovered. There was no need to decide everything today. For now, I would stop here, inform the chosen individuals, and then discuss further details with them.
“Big brother, are you done yet?”
“Yes, I’m coming. That’s the plan. We’ll finalize the rest tomorrow or later.”
“Understood.”
Just before the discussion concluded, an impatient Lappy tugged at my sleeve. After excusing myself from Lieselotte, Lappy led me away from the camp to a nearby area.
In that place, numerous individuals were sweating through their training. All of them wielded wooden weapons, and none were in their demon forms. Moreover, they were refraining from using spiritual arts, meaning none were exerting their full strength.
However, the training was intense enough to guarantee injuries. It was designed for combat in the forest, so the ground was deliberately uneven. Carelessly swinging a weapon could cause it to catch on a tree, and not watching one’s step might lead to tripping over roots. So no one could take part in this training without being serious.
“Hee! You’re strong, miss!”
“Ugh, it’s heavy…!”
Chris was also participating in the training alongside my comrades. She fought fiercely against Tigar and they both wielded a wooden sword in each of their hands. Although their swordsmanship skills seemed evenly matched, Tigar seemed to have the upper hand due to his greater physical strength.
After a fierce exchange, their wooden swords finally gave in. Both weapons broke at the moment of a violent collision, resulting in a draw.
“Good work, both of you.”
“Good morning, Antares.”
“Ooh! Did you finish talking?”
When I called out to the two of them who had stopped their training because of the broken wooden sword, they both responded with a smile. There didn’t seem to be any lingering tension between them. It seemed they were not dwelling on yesterday’s events.
The two of them would probably now take a break and evaluate each other’s strengths and weaknesses. At that moment, thinking about continuing my own martial arts training with Lappy, Lieselotte, who had followed us on foot, arrived at the training ground.
“I asked her to participate in the training so that we could interact with each other, but…it turned out to be much more intense than I expected.”
“Yes, young lady! It’s been a great training session! I’ve learned quite a bit!”
“…You have such a pretty face, but surprisingly, you’re quite the musclehead, aren’t you?”
Liselotte’s eyes widened in pure surprise, and Chris responded with a bright smile. It seemed that even for Chris, who had trained as a warrior of the “Goddess of Protection”, the swordsmanship honed on the battlefield proved to be helpful.
However, seeing Chris like that, Hilda sighed softly and murmured under her breath. Chris seemed to be having a lot of fun as she concentrated on her training happy. This only went to show her proficiency and passion for physical activities.
As a guard, being too engrossed in training, even if it’s under the orders of the one you’re guarding, might be a concern though. Hilda’s exasperation likely stemmed from this. On a personal note, seeing Chris, who once was a thin and frail slave, now so lively and energetic, brought me a great deal of joy.
“Even though it’s just swordsmanship, It’s quite surprising to see a woman able to match my husband in combat.”
“Nyauu…”
“That’s true. Tigar’s swordsmanship is among the top three in our house, right, Lawqum?”
“Ayee!”
Lieselotte and Hilda weren’t the only spectators. Sharl and Tuhru, each holding a young child, were also watching the training. Sadly, as long as we are demons, persecution is a constant threat. We must not forget that humans like Marcellus or Lieselotte are exceptionally rare.
Since we were targeted by those who wanted to persecute us, we understood that without gaining strength, we couldn’t even protect ourselves. Thus, training was essential for self-defense, and we made it a point to familiarize the children with it from infancy.
Interestingly, Lawqum, the son of Linardo and Tuhru, enjoyed watching the training sessions, whereas Reese, the daughter of Tigar and Sharl, showed little interest. The differences in their personalities, even as toddlers of similar age, were quite evident.
“Oh! Are there babies here too?”
“Yes, there are. Look, Lawqum. Can you say hello to the lady?”
“Aooo!”
“Yes, Good morning.”
Lieselotte’s surprise was understandable. To avoid contact with them, they had stayed in a remote camp with those who couldn’t change their appearance until yesterday. They had returned here only after it was no longer necessary to hide their demon nature from them.
The reason we had been careful to avoid contact was that the young ones still couldn’t control their demon forms. They could suddenly transform, posing a high risk of revealing their demon nature. Of course, I had inadvertently undone all those precautions.
When Tuhru encouraged Lawqum to greet her, the boy in his arms waved his hands energetically. His lively voice seemed to amuse Lieselotte, who responded with a smile and a greeting.
Seeing this, Lawqum reached out his hands to Lieselotte, seemingly asking to play. She began to approach him in kind, but at that moment, I intervened.
“Miss Lieselotte, please wait a moment.”
“Is something the matter?”
Lieselotte looked up at me curiously, but I directed my gaze towards Tigar and signaled to him with my head. Understanding what I wanted to say, Tigar tossed the handle of the wooden sword he was holding towards me.
After I caught the handle in mid-air, I swung the wooden sword left and right in front of Lawqum. He reached out eagerly, trying to grasp it and, after a few misses, he finally caught it between the palms of his hands. At that moment, the handle snapped with a loud crack in his powerful grip.
Not only Lieselotte but also Hilda and Chris were stunned by such a sight, their eyes wide with shock. Lawqum, who had crushed the handle, was innocently laughing as the the remains of the wooden pieces on his hand scattered away to reveal his palms now unexpectedly covered in white scales.
“Heyyy! No dangerous stuff, okay?”
“Ayeee…”
“Good boy, you understand your mistake, that’s great.”
“Aye!”
Tuhru scolded Lawqum, and when he showed signs of understanding his error, she patted his head in praise. It seemed Tuhru’s parenting philosophy was to be clear about what was wrong when scolding and to praise after a child reflects on their actions.
“As you can see, even though Lawqum is a child, he is also a demon. His physical strength should not be compared to that of a human child. At this age, he still doesn’t understand his own strength. If you play with him, try to avoid direct contact.”
“I-I understand.”
“Big brother, hurry up.”
After explaining these precautions to the still-shocked Lieselotte, I was hurried along by Lappy to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Lappy’s talent in martial arts was outstanding, and recently, our spars have ended in draws more often than before.
I was no longer able to win based solely on skill, and without the advantage of my longer limbs, I would likely be losing more often. However, I had my pride. Determined not to embarrass myself in front of the client who just hired us, I approached the training with renewed vigor and determination.
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