With the map in hand, there was a new guidance.

'Let's try the quest 0/1.

　I don't know if it's because it's my first quest or if it's always a set of quests, but I got it anyway. It must mean that I should try the magic map request.
　If you complete it, you'll get both the reward for the quest and the achievement reward for the guidance, which is a pretty good deal.
　Though I don't know what the reward of the quest is.

　However, that quest tells me to be prepared for battle, and there seems to be some danger in that. The title of the quest is "Crouching Beast and Sky-Blue Fig. There is no denying the possibility that I'll have to fight monsters, or rather demonic beasts.

　For now, I'd like to train a bit more and challenge it when I feel I've become stronger. At least enough to be able to take a swing at Shero-san.

　As for the training, Elepippi will be joining us today.
　Since I have a stage actor's job (sort of), I can't always join them, but since we've gone to the trouble of making a knightly corps - even if it's only nominal - I'd like you to join us as much as possible. I want to have it.
　Besides, if you're going to work as a knight, I want you to be at least as strong as possible, and Elepippi is only 17 years old. He should be able to become as strong as possible with the effects of his knightly vocation.


''Well, what do you want to do with Elepippi's weapon?''

　In the morning, it was in the meadow near the Shero house where they always train.
　When Elepippi joins, she has to decide what weapons she will use as her main weapon of choice, but we don't have that many different weapons.
　Swords and knives are my hobby, and I have a few, but not blunt weapons.
　It's a good thing that you're a knight in shining armor, or at the very least a mace, flail, and bow.
　It's a good idea to let your fellow knight vocationistas, Rebecca, decide.

It's a good idea. It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're going to be doing. We don't have any shield holders in our house.
A shield.

　It is true that one-handed sword and shield is the basic style in RPGs, and it's a super stable standard.
　For some reason, our house is full of attack-specific types, so it might be just right.

　And unlike Marina, who is a slave, and Sherow and Rebecca, who are warriors of the past, Elepippi is a child of another family that we employ.
　Considering that, it's absolutely impossible to injure, much less let them die, so it's better to have equipment that is more protective.

　Hmm. I'm starting to feel like this is the only way to go.

That's a good idea. Let's go with that. The problem is that we don't have any shields, though.

　No one else uses the shield, and the one I bought before was flushed down the drain in the Ok.
　Well, I'll buy it next time, and for today, I'll just get some basic one-handed sword training.

Jiro. I made it for you, for good measure. Here.
!

　Mr. Shero releases a wooden shield.
　I, when did you get to ......?

It's not just shields, I've made a whole set of weapons for training. It's always been a given that you make your own training weapons. Ha-ha.

　Oh, thank you ...... thank you ......!
　Apparently, with unexpected dexterity, Mr. Shero has created numerous wooden weapons for training purposes.
　Swords, great swords, spears, axes, shields, and daggers.
　They may not be heavy enough, but they will be able to provide practical training without fear of injury.

　Elepippi's training menu was left to Rebecca, as usual.
　It won't be as tough as Marina's, but it'll be pretty grueling.

　Well then, let's get on with our training today!


　~2 hours later


'Huh!　Huh!　Huh!　Huh!

　Elepippi collapses on her back, panting with a gasp.
　He throws out the wooden weapon he used for training and sweatily moves his chest up and down for oxygen.

''Hmmm. I wonder if I've been a little too intense since the first day...''
It's always about this much, and that's fine.
Yeah?　But I might get sick of it and say I'm going to stop.
'If this makes a sound, then doing a knighthood is a dream come true and ....... Generally speaking, everyone starts knight training when they're at least a certain age, and if it's not tougher than normal, you won't make up for the delay. It's hard to get used to it, but we'll just have to let them do their best.

　Elepippi is 17 years old. It has been seven years since he was given his vocation.
　I don't know if there's a Golden Age of combat training, but it's hard to compete with someone who started training steadily at age 10.

　Knighthood is (almost) like my waywardness, but that doesn't mean it can't be a complete decoration.
　If you have an all-women's squad, you will always stand out.
　If you stand out, you will attract bad things, not to mention the example of the last wildebeest.
　For such occasions, I want to acquire a certain amount of strength.


'Huh ...... hah ...... hah ...... hah ...... hah ......'
How are you feeling now?

　Elepippi had been undergoing practical defense training from the first day against Rebecca-san, as an example (which I also received from Shero-san). And that was for two hours straight.
　The first day was especially tough, you know. It's natural for them to be like this.
　In fact, I'd like to say that I did a great job.

"...... hah ...... hah ...... wacky ......, is it always like this, always like this?
'No, they're upgrading it even more now. In your worst training session, you could do that thing all versus one.

　Of course, one on one is the basics, but Shero-san and Rebecca's training menu doesn't stop there.
　As expected of a former mercenary group member, she learned how to fight with many people, how to deal with flying tools, how to escape well, how to do small tricks with things in the field, how to fight against magical beasts (in a mercenary group, there were rather a few jobs like defeating powerful magical beasts), how to cooperate with your friends, knowledge of battlefield food, and how to know how to encamp, etc.

.............
Do you want to stop?

　Elepippi had never had this kind of training before.
　And that training is very strict, partly because of the instinctive fear of death.
　It's different when you have a vocation when you're not the right person for it - it's not the same when you have a vocation.
　I felt that again as I listened to Elepippi's answer.

'...... Nope. It's fun. ...... It's exhausting, but everyone comes straight at you and it's great fun. But ...... one thing I'm worried about is whether I can keep up with them.

　He smiled softly and said this to me.
　Really, all the knight's kids are good kids. ......

''Well, it's only your first day. That training is hard, but you'll feel better soon. There's a lot of bad stuff sloshing around in my brain.
...... maybe.
Haha, well, that's about it for now, but once again, nice to meet you from now on, Erepippi.
...... Yeah. It's nice to meet you, too.

　Deanna and Marina.
It's got a nice vibe to it.
The Lord is good to the newcomers. He is a candy and a whip.
It's mostly candy.
Do you prefer the whip, Princess?
'That's what you're saying about ......!
Wow!
　And you're not talking about us, you're talking about .......

　By the way, me, Marina and Deanna were taught by Shero-san how to fight with a one-handed sword for self-defense.
　The demon sword I carry around is a long sword with a sword blade alone about a meter long.
　It's also handled (although it can be handled one-handed in terms of weight) in both hands. I've always worn a sword, but it's a hindrance.
　It's a f*cking long halberd for Marina.
　It's the only weapon I have, so I always carry it around, but it's not the battlefield, and it's a hindrance no matter how you look at it. In the city, it would be better to just get by with a sword.
　Deanna uses a bow most of the time in training, but it's a good idea to use it.
　Well, I don't even have one of the one-handed swords itself (although I do have one swing if it's heavily rusted), and I'd like to buy one for all of us.
　And preferably mithril silver or better. It's expensive though.
　I'm not sure I'd like to be able to get a good deal more than that.

　-- By the way, weight = power, so mithril isn't as strong as one would associate with the word mithril. For armor, it's light, strong and excellent, but for use as a weapon, steel is said to be superior in both weight and stickiness.



　After the morning's training, it was time for lunch.
　On days when we do training, we often have a pattern of going to the restaurant after lunch together.
　Orica will prepare lunch and Marina will bring it in with Orica.

Then I will return to the mansion once and bring lunch with Orica!
You're bringing me lunch. No, wait, wait, stop, Marina.
Waiting, sir!　I'm very good at waiting.

　Suddenly, the story goes back to the beginning.
　The bogus vendor's race, which had been put together in an online auction, was successfully sold yesterday.

　As it turned out - surprise - it came to 126,000 yen.
　I was a bit daunted by this, but according to the questioner and the winning bidder, it's a "wonderful collection of real antiques".
　Well, there's nothing wrong with selling them for a high price. Otherworldly money can be earned, but YEN is hard to earn.

　However, it is also true that this has made it much more difficult to sell the laces bought at the purveyor's shop for prostitutes.
　It's not necessarily the case that laces from the purveyors of prostitutes are more expensive, but there's no need to take unnecessary risks.

　The special move, "I was sorting through my grandmother's belongings and it came up" is a one-off backstab for one kind, you know.

　I asked Marina, who was about to ride up on her horse for lunch, for an errand.

I also want you to bring me the map from yesterday and the race I bought a while back.

　I got the lace because I wanted a handkerchief, but I still have some leftover lace for collars, sleeves, ribbons, etc. We don't sell them in Japan, but that doesn't mean we can't sell them here. We want to find a way to use them, and we want to think about what we can do with them.
　Also, we should ask Rebecca to take a look at the magic map, since it's such a big deal. It's a good idea to have someone else take a look at it, because it might give us a good idea of where it is.

I'm sure Orica will know where to put it, if you don't know where it is.
I know what I've done!
Where do you learn a word like that?

　Marina is galloping with her horse to the mansion.
　Elepippi's eyes sparkle at the sight of her.

'...... senpai cool ......'
'Elepippi will have to learn to ride, too. Well, you'll learn to ride soon enough.

　A man with a knight's calling.
　I'm still scared to death of myself.



　◇◆◆◆◆◆◇.



　Marina came back with a full load of races, maps, food, and Orica.
　Horses can carry a lot of weight, can't they? Horsepower is different.

　After a fun lunchtime (we were oddly pleased that Erepippi included lunch), we talked about what we could do with it for the race.

　As it turned out--.

　It would be so cute to decorate a horse. (Marina)
The material used to make the costumes over here. (Me)
　I can use it for a stage costume, so I want to share some of it with you. (Erepippi)
　I'll make an insignia for the Knights, here. (Rebecca.)
　I'm making room decorations, so it would be nice if you could share some of it with me. (Orica)
　Let's make a cast net and throw it at the enemy. (Mr. Shero.)
　I'm sure it would be cute to decorate a horse. (Deanna)

　First of all, I rejected Shero's idea. Why use it in combat .......
　But the netting itself is good for incapacitating opponents, so next time I'll go to Home Depot and buy something.

　I'll share some with Elepippi and Orica. After all, there's an awful lot of them, so it's not a problem (in terms of quantity, for lack of a better word, there's about a trash bagful of them).

　My idea is dismissed for the moment, since I don't have the costume making ate yet.

　Marina and Deanna both want to decorate their horses for some reason. I wonder if they talked about it beforehand. I wonder if they discussed it beforehand, that the horses would be too bleak.

So we'll go with Rebecca's idea. It's a good idea to decorate the knightly corps with the same lace as everyone else. It would also be an expression of feminine delicacy.

　Basically, I've decided that I'll make my own lace, or have someone else make it for me.
　I'll just cheat and ask Bill to make it for me.


And also, do you remember that magic map Efta-san showed us a long time ago?　I got one just like that one.
'What?　That was pretty expensive, I believe.
Well, yes, but it's a bargain. And the map looks like it's in this neighborhood--

　As he said that, he received the map from Marina.

　As soon as I received it, a dumb sound resounded out, 'Piru-piru-piru-piru-piru'.

　It's a monster alarm that has sounded quite a while ago.

　A magic tool that lets you know that a monster has sprung up.
　It was a valuable tool, but only one of them was loaned to Mr. Shero's house, where he was commissioned to hunt monsters.

　But "Oh my, it's an after-dinner exercise..." said the nonchalant Rebecca.
　Well, strong means you don't get out in this area, and the skeleton you fought before was weak.

''Lord which!　Tycho's　Today, I'd like to have Marina do it.

　Marina raised her hand tautly.

'Hmm?　I don't mind, but ......, oh, did I mention it's guided?
That's right. Ma'am, Marina, I have never achieved your guidance in my life.
I'll be fine too! But you just have to be ready for anything, okay?
I know what I've done!
...... so what's that word?

　And in the midst of our congeniality, for some reason, Deanna is the only one with a blue face and a wandering gaze.

'Hmm?　What's up, Dana? Is there something you're worried about--

'Hey! No one should go out there!　Soon ...... sprung up right there ......!

'What?　What does that mean?

　Come to think of it, when the monster first sprang up, only Deanna perceived that it had sprung up.
　But aren't monsters supposed to spring up in the forest ......?

'No, it sprang up right there, suddenly and without warning!　It's also a powerful ......!　Nothing compares to bones!

　Deanna is unusually distraught and suing.
　It looks like it's kind of bad .......

　But that doesn't mean you can't stay home .......
　It's not so much about Marina's guidance as it is about Shero-san's job to kill monsters. You can't leave them alone and let them go to the city.

Are you a strong monster?　Then Marina will go. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what to do with it. ...... It should be able to at least stop them.

　Marina almost jumped out of the room in a temper tantrum.

'Wait, wait. Don't be so quick!
Yeah. Calm down.
'I'm good at waiting, but I'm also good at ......

　Marina is the best equipped of the lot of us.
　She's properly equipped with armor, and her weapon is a halberd that seems to be effective in killing monsters.
　So, well, maybe it's fine for Marina to fight, but if we're going to fight anyway, it's probably better to do it with all of us.

　But, well, it seems that this is an irregular situation, so it's best to leave it to the professionals.
　Gentlemen!　Please!

Okay, we'll see about that. You guys wait.
''That's right. Skeletons or something like that, but high ranking monsters will still be hard on you guys.

　Saying that, Shero-san and Rebecca-san walked out front with unenthusiastic steps. This calmness. After all, the number of places is different.

　However, they soon returned.

''There was a rather large demonic beast sleeping in the tree behind .......''

　It was then that I finally noticed that the magic map was glowing red.