Early morning--.
　The sound of sword fights echoed in the forest near the mansion.

　The morning mist enveloped the forest and the air was cool.
　Even so, it was just right for the intense movement of the body.
　In fact, there was sweat like beads on the foreheads of the two men who were striking each other.

　The one striking swords together is Luxol.
　And me - not me - but Borunga.

　Borunga's sword prowess is not far behind his opponent.
　It's a defensive battle.
　Luxor's slash (question) is answered by Borunga. A mock match that doubled as an instructional match was going on.

Yes, that's right. Be more precise with your sword. When you strike, strike. When you strike, strike. When you throw a false sword, deceive your opponent. But don't relax. I want you to be able to do the same thing.

　As expected of a former Knight Commander, Luxol's guidance is quite precise.
　The opposing student - although I don't want to praise him too much - has good sense.
　Maybe it's because they are children.
　I'm sure you'll find that you'll be able to get a lot more out of it.

　But Bornga has a serious flaw.

''Haha........ Haha.........''

　He exhaled.
　The sword stopped for a moment.
　There was no way Luxor would miss that opening.
　With his blade-drawn shortsword, he poked Bornga in the gut with all his might.

　Spewing vomit and vomit, Borunga stared down.

　Borunga has no stamina.
　His body is much more toned than in the past, but he has no stamina anyway.
　I've been relying on magic and neglecting to strengthen my physical strength.

It's not enough to have basic physical strength yet, but my muscles are good. It's a good thing that you're honest, because you're not like some other guy.

　Luxor said, "Ga-ha-ha-ha! He laughed.
　He looked at me as I sat on the stump and observed.

　Oh, come on.
　Who's being honest?
　Luksol.
　That kid was bullying my son (Lacelle) without your knowledge.

　Why is Lucisol training Bornga?
　It goes back a year.

　After witnessing my strength, Bornga begged my father to take me on as an apprentice.
　At the time, Luxol was too old and eager to beat me, but he agreed with Bornga, who also wanted to be stronger than me.
　Now, he had established something called the 'Lacelle Vengeance Alliance' and they were closer than his son.

　I don't know if it was because of that or not........
　Borunga's face had changed from a year ago.
　His expression has become more cheerful, if not more heartfelt.
　That was also after he became involved with Luxor.

　My father has a strange fascination with him for some reason.
　He was much weaker than me, but there was something about him that drew people to him.
　Borunga was one of them.
　I know that he doesn't play with the guys he used to hang around with, and he trains in secret.

　To me, it's inefficient training.
　But I have to admit, I'm serious about getting stronger.

Father, I... It's time for my...

No!

Why?

Lasell can't do that because he doesn't take himself seriously.

　He starts talking like a child, and then starts to whine.
　Hey...... Old man.
　How old are you?

Father will be strong with Bornga. Nah!　Borunga.

'Oh!　Yes!

'Let's smash Lacelle together...'

　Squared shoulders.
　Hey. I don't know if you guys get along better than your son.


　◆◇◇◇◇◇


　I finished my morning road work.
　As usual, I washed my face in the creek and wiped the sweat off my face.
　I hear a child's voice in the distance, over the sound of a woodcutter cutting in the distance.
　I ran over to see a group of children from the lordship, all the same age as me.
　At the center of it all was Bornga.
　Surrounding me was a former prefect of Bornga.
　Now he's sticking to me like a goldfish turd.

　After all, he's probably hiding and planning something bad again.

　When I listened, it was 180 degrees different from what I was expecting.

'Hey, hey. What's going on here, Mr. Bornga?
How is it that Bornga is so close to Mr. Luxor?
Mr. Luxor is Mr. Lacelle's father.
"Well.......... Uh........... Strange!

　He was screaming at the former kid in chief.

　In contrast, Bornga sat upright and held still, not saying anything.

'How about if I say something?'

　One of them kicked Bornga off.
　That's quite a hip kick.
　After all, I'm the one who teaches it...
　I've trained them in self-defense-grade body techniques.

　He pointed that technique mercilessly at the little general who doesn't say a word.

　Blown away, Bornga still did not resist.
　Even though he was covered in mud and turned into a turtle child, he would not try to get even.

　Trained by Luxor and training voluntarily himself, Bornga's abilities are strong enough to kick his cronies to the curb.
　If he fights him head-on, he will win or lose in no time.

　And yet, Bornga does nothing of the sort.

　His bruises were congested and blood was flowing from his temples.

'What's the matter, Mr. Bornga?'
Why aren't you resisting?
He's a f*cking idiot.
"Well.......... Well.......... I think that's about--

　Then Bornga wiped his mouth.
　He spat out the blood that had seeped into his mouth with a peck.
　Finally, a counterattack........
　It seemed like a good idea, but Bornga sat upright again and said.

''I swore an oath.

What?

I made a promise to Mr. Luxor. I would never go to violence.

What are you talking about?
A year ago, you were beating up on Lacelle like that.
Yes, yes, yes!
"Well.......... Well.......... Isn't that enough?

You can hit me if you want, but I'm not going to hurt you. I won't hurt you. But..... Maybe don't hit me in the hand and the arm, if you can help it.

''Hahahahaha!　--What does that mean?
"Sandbagged?
That's good. It's fine. I always hated him, you know?
"Well.......... Well..... Guys, stop--

""Stay in your pants!"

　One prefect was brushed aside.
　The three remaining men quickly surrounded Bornga.
　The rest of the parade was a parade of punching and kicking.

'See!　Try hitting me.
Just like old times.
Hey!　What's the matter, Bornga!

　I challenge you.
　Borunga seems to have finally run out of patience.
　He stands up with an impatient look on his face.
　His face turned red.
　He stared at his former prefects with a look of indignation.

''Whoa, whoa. Want to do it?
What about your promise to Mr. Luxor?
Here. Here's my cheek.

　The prefects were even more agitated.
　Some even stuck their faces out.

　Borunga sucked in a breath.
　He raised his arms.
　He wondered if he was finally going to break his promise.

　Thud.........

　He stopped his fist on the verge and sat down on the ground again.
　He gritted his back teeth and endured.
　The assault of punching and kicking began again.
　Borunga turned into a turtle cub, desperately trying to protect his hands.

　Borunga's pledge was real.

　.........

　Good grief.........
　I can't watch this!

　He unleashes a sword qi.
　It was a sign of himself, a killing intent, and even more magical power on top of that.
　Then the atmosphere trembled.
　Like a gust of wind, it shakes the treetops.

　The fist that was aimed at Borunga stopped.
　The children shrank from the powerful killing intent.
　I turn around.
　When they stared at me, their faces went pale.

''You're doing some interesting things, boys.

LaSelle Mr.........
Yeah, yeah...
I know. So, Racel, why don't you join us?
"Well.......... Well...... I-I didn't do anything.

Yeah. Maybe I should join you.

　I stood in front of Bornga.
　His cheeks were swollen.
　His face, which was even bigger than it was, was even more swollen.

'You're hapless, Bornga,'

　Honestly, I had it coming to me.
　In the past, I wielded the power of a [Warrior] and made people obey me, and now the bill for that has come back to haunt me.

　However--.

　But that doesn't give me a reason to beat a human.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

"Hey, Bornga. You swore an oath, didn't you? I'll never (s)heap violence on a person.

'Ah, ah.... That's my promise to Mr. Luxor.

'Right. Then you're not a person (I'm not a person)...(I'm not a person)...(I'm not a person)...(I'm not a person).

What?

　I activate the [Seeker (Seeker)] magic.

　[Transformation]

　He directed his magic at his prefects.
　Immediately, their bodies began to change.
　A big nose. Little ears and a tail.
　The color of its body surface changes to pink, and its body slowly begins to assume the pose of crawling on all fours.

''Buhii!　Buhii!

　Raising a vulgar voice.
　That's right.
　They've all turned into ugly pigs.

(What's this?!
(What do you mean?!)
Mr. Lacelle!　What--)
(Uh...... Well.......... (Me too?)

　You sound like you're talking, but I don't know what you're talking about.
　If I use [Beast Language Deciphering], I'll find out soon enough.
　But I didn't want to waste my magic power.

"How about this, Bornga........

　Then, Bornga stood up.
　Slowly applying [muscle mass strengthening].
　Brilliant.
　He was very rough in the past.
　But by learning from Luxol for the past year, I've become able to control my magic power well.

　Without wasting any time, I can spread the magic of 【Muscle Strengthening】 all over my body.
　I stood in front of the former prefect who had become a pig.
　Next to him, I also line up next to him.

''You're going to do it too?''

I told you.　I want to mix it up...

Hey!　(And Mr. Lacelle!)
(That's what I mean by mixing it up!)
(No!　(No!
(Uh...... Well........... (Whatever it is now!!!)

What's he saying?

''Well..... For some reason, I've just forgotten the [Beast Language Decoding] magic.

It's called "Deciphering Animal Language.

　Borunga and I grinned at the same time.
　We surrounded the poor pigs with bobbing and snapping finger bones.

'Brace yourselves, boys,'


　Buhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!


　The screams of the pigs rang out in the early morning in Stark territory.


　◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆


Hey. Don't move.

''Your [Recovery] magic......... It's too much pressure.

　I apply 【Recovery】 magic to Bornga.
　The swollen face gradually recedes.
　It also heals the minor wounds.
　While exercising the magic, I asked.

"Bornga. Do you want to be strong?

Yeah. Much more than you.

Pfft!

What's funny...

I just knew it was going to be a Volunga.

　This guy......
　He's always obedient when he's with Luxor, but when it's just me and him, he reverts to his old ways.
　It's not just the way he says it.

"What would you do if I said I'd take you to a place where you could be strong?

　Borunga looked up.
　Eventually, he nodded his head.

''I'm going...!

　There was a strong determination in his eyes.