A month had passed.
Whenever it was time for arithmetic or reading and writing, she would vanish without a trace, and wouldn't show her face until sword training began.
Of course, there were exceptions.
She was perfectly attentive during magic lessons.
The first time she produced a fireball, she was absolutely beaming with joy, bouncing around until the curtains caught fire and we had a small blaze on our hands.
She stared at the fire she had created with deep satisfaction and declared, with firm determination: "Soon enough, I'll put on a fireworks show as big as
I put out the fire and strictly ordered her not to use fire magic anywhere I couldn't see.
She nodded obediently.
She had plenty of motivation.
I thought this would carry over to the other subjects too.
But I was sorely mistaken.
Arithmetic and reading and writing — she wouldn't hear a word of it.
When I tried to reason with her, she'd run away.
When I tried to grab her, she'd hit me first and then run away.
When I gave chase, she'd loop back, hit me again, and run away a second time.
She had already seen for herself just how important arithmetic and reading were after that incident a few days ago. You'd think she'd get it.
She must have really, really hated them.
When I complained to Philip about this, he replied: "Getting her to attend lessons is part of a tutor's job, you know."
I forced myself to accept this and went to look for Eris.
Ghislaine could teach reading and arithmetic too, but — needless to say — she was just a bonus. I couldn't rely on Ghislaine alone.
But finding Eris was no easy task.
I had only been at the mansion for one month, while Eris had lived here for years. The difference in familiarity with the terrain was enormous, and hide-and-seek wasn't even a contest.
That said, the previous tutors had apparently managed to track her down eventually.
And then suffered vicious counterattacks… and resigned.
Or perhaps some tutors had managed to beat Eris into submission instead — but apparently she once snuck into a tutor's room in the dead of night armed with a wooden sword and attacked him while he slept, leaving him with injuries that required months of recovery.
Ghislaine was the only one who had successfully repelled her night raids and morning ambushes.
Incidentally, the other tutor was Eris's wet nurse, so things had apparently worked out with that arrangement.
Even if I did find her, the only future I could see was being sent to the hospital.
If possible, I'd rather not find her at all.
I didn't want to get beaten up.
If she'd listen to magic lessons, I'd be happy with just that.
But Philip insisted I teach arithmetic and reading and writing too.
He insisted it was just as important as magic.
He irresponsible said I could do it.
He actually said it was *more* important than magic.
Fair point.
Maybe I should just kidnap her again.
A child who won't learn their lesson needs a proper punishment…
"Snhh… snhh…"
Lost in thought, I finally found her.
There she was, buried in a pile of hay in the stable, belly button exposed, sleeping peacefully.
She was sound asleep.
Her sleeping face looked like an angel's.
But if you let appearances fool you, you'd be in for a devil of a time.
And I mean that quite literally: beaten up by a devil until you're spitting blood.
But I couldn't just leave her there.
First, I didn't want her to catch a cold, so I tugged her clothes down to cover her exposed belly.
Then I gave her chest a little squeeze.
The sage inside me offered his assessment.
*"Hmm, still an AA, I see. But the growth potential is high. With proper development, she could reach E-rank or above. You should squeeze them daily to monitor progress. That too is part of your training. Ho ho ho."* Thank you, wise sage!
After enjoying myself thoroughly, I called out in a soft voice: "Good morning, my lady. Time to wake up, Lady Eris. It's fun, fun arithmetic time!"
She wouldn't wake up, huh? Oh well.
A naughty girl who won't wake up might just have her panties pulled off, you know?
Just as I was about to slip my hand inside her loose-fitting long skirt— Eris's eyes snapped open.
Her gaze drifted slowly from my hand on her leg up to my face.
The sleepy expression twisted into a ferocious scowl, accompanied by the sound of grinding teeth.
*Cr- crack!* A split second later, a fist came flying at me.
*My face?!* I panic-crossed my arms in front of my face.
"Guwah…!"
The fist landed dead center on my solar plexus.
I crumpled to my knees in agony.
No reversal — just pure devil. No angel involved.
"Hmph!"
One snort of contempt, one kick.
The young lady slipped past me and marched out of the stable.
--- There was nothing I could do.
I turned to Ghislaine for help.
This was the same Ghislaine whom
If anyone could convince Eris of the importance of arithmetic and reading, it would be her. Her words would carry an entirely different weight.
Eris would listen to her.
That was my reasoning, anyway.
At first, Ghislaine's attitude was that I should handle it myself, but after I begged her using water magic to put on a pitiful crying act, she eventually relented with a reluctant nod.
Easy mark.
--- Well then, let's see what she's got.
I left everything to Ghislaine without any particular consultation.
Ghislaine made her move during a break in the magic lesson.
"Back in the day, I used to think a sword was all you needed."
She began talking about the past.
A delinquent girl, and the master who accepted her.
And then, the companions she gained for the first time after becoming an adventurer.
What emerged from that long preamble was… a tale of hardship.
"When I was an adventurer, everyone else handled everything for me. Armor, food, supplies, buying and selling daily goods, contracts, maps, notice boards. The weight of a water-filled canteen, securing fire starters, a left hand occupied holding a torch… I only realized how important all that was after we split up."
The party had apparently broken up around seven years ago.
Actually, Paul and
I had a vague suspicion, but it turned out they had indeed been in the same party.
"There were suggestions to continue with the remaining members, but Paul, who handled scouting and quick strikes, and Zenith, the party's only healer, were both leaving. Even if we hadn't officially disbanded, we would've split up eventually. It was inevitable."
The party had been a six-person group: a swordswoman, a swordsman, a warrior, a thief, a priest, and a magician.
Occupation-wise, that was the lineup.
Ghislaine's offensive power was formidable, even if she had been a Sword Saint at the time.
Warrior: tank Swordsman: sub-tank and attacker Swordsman: attacker Magician: attacker Priest: healer It was a remarkably well-balanced party.
Incidentally, the "thief" was — according to Ghislaine — a catch-all term for the person who handled miscellaneous tasks. Lockpicking, trap detection, setting up camp, buying and selling with merchants — everything. It required someone who was literate, quick-witted, and speedy. Apparently, many of them came from merchant families.
"At least they could have called the position 'Treasure Hunter' or something…"
I blurted that out involuntarily.
"That guy was always skimming money from the party fund to gamble. 'Thief' was generous enough."
That's harsh.
"Wouldn't he have been beaten to a pulp if he got caught?"
"No. He had a talent for gambling — he'd often come back with more than he took. He almost never lost more than half. And he knew to hold back when things were tight, apparently."
So that was the situation.
Even with good judgment, really. Why would they tolerate something like that?
It was beyond me.
Not to brag, but gambling was the one vice I never touched.
Of course, I did spend over 100,000 yen on online games.
Well, having a Paul-type who was hopeless with women in the party meant their moral standards probably weren't that strict to begin with.
Everyone draws their own lines.
As many people as there are, that's how many rules there are.
"By the way, what's the difference between a swordsman and a warrior?"
I asked, because I was curious.
"If you use a sword and belong to one of the Three Great Styles, you're a swordsman. If you use a sword but don't belong to the Three Great Styles, you're a warrior. And if you belong to the Three Great Styles but don't use a sword, you're a warrior."
"So a swordsman is a special title, huh."
Or rather, the Three Great Styles were what was special.
Ghislaine's sword had been incredible when she took down the kidnappers. I couldn't even tell when she drew her blade. She moved in a flash, and the opponent's head simply slid off.
Later I learned it was a secret technique called the "Sword of Light" or "Light Sword Technique."
"What about a knight?"
"A knight is a knight. If you're appointed by the kingdom or a feudal lord, you're a knight. They're educated, so they can read and write and do arithmetic. Some can even use simple magic. But many come from noble families, and they tend to have high pride."
The education probably came from attending school or something.
"Father wasn't a knight yet at that time?"
"I don't know the details, but Paul used to call himself a swordsman."
"I've heard there are also things like magic swordsmen or magic warriors?"
"Some people who can use offensive magic do go by those titles. Any profession can be called whatever you want, really."
"Ohh…"
Eris was listening to this conversation with sparkling eyes.
I started to worry she'd soon suggest dragging me or Ghislaine to the nearby dungeon. I was anxious about that.
I'd rather spend my days surrounded by girls in a nice, lewd existence. That kind of adventuring life didn't appeal to me.
Ah, but wait — I'd forgotten.
I was supposed to have Ghislaine talk about the importance of reading and arithmetic!
I'd gotten carried away by my own curiosity.
Mistake, mistake.
--- However…
Eris did start attending arithmetic and reading lessons.
Thanks to Ghislaine.
After that day, Ghislaine kept sharing stories of her hardships whenever the opportunity arose.
They were stories that made your stomach hurt just listening, but the effect was tremendous.
Perhaps Eris had simply accepted that these things were necessary.
I couldn't help thinking we should have done this from the start, but…
Anyway, the important thing was that it worked.
Actually, without that incident, the young lady probably wouldn't have listened at all. She'd been looking at me with those slimy, disdainful eyes. So it hadn't been for nothing.
--- First, as an introductory lesson, I taught the concept of the four basic operations.
Thanks to attending school and having tutors before, Eris could do simple addition.
"Rudeus!"
"Yes, Eris."
I pointed at Eris, who had cheerfully raised her hand.
"Why do we need division?"
She didn't understand the importance of multiplication and division. In fact, she had always been bad at subtraction. She was the type who had given up on math the moment subtraction required carrying across place values.
"It's less that it's needed, and more that it's simply the opposite of multiplication."
"I'm asking where you use it!"
"Let's see. For example, when you want to divide 100 silver coins equally among five people."
Eris slammed her fist on the desk.
"The last teacher said the exact same thing!
So tell me — why on earth would I need to divide anything equally?!"
Right. Kids who don't want to learn always resort to this kind of sophistry.
But honestly, that wasn't important at all.
"That's something you'd have to ask those five people about. It's just convenient to have division when you want to divide things equally."
"Convenient means you don't have to use it if you don't want to!"
"If you don't want to use it, you don't have to.
Of course, there's a big difference between not wanting to use it and not being able to use it."
"Hmph…"
When I asked if she couldn't do it, Eris — with her pride — clamped her mouth shut.
But this wasn't a real solution. She'd just go back to spouting sophistry to avoid learning arithmetic.
Times like these called for Ghislaine.
"Ghislaine, have you ever had trouble dividing things equally?"
"Yeah. Once, in a dungeon, I dropped some of our food supplies and decided to turn back. When I tried to divide what was left by the number of days we had to travel, I messed up. Went three days without food or water. Thought I was going to die. Halfway through, I couldn't take it anymore and ate some monster dung that was lying around. Got diarrhea. While I was dealing with nausea, stomach cramps, and the runs, a swarm of monsters surrounded us—"
A five-minute-long, stomach-churning tale ensued.
I listened with a pale face, but to Eris, it was apparently a tale of heroic adventure. Her eyes were shining.
"So I want to learn division. Please continue the lesson."
When Ghislaine said this, Eris became docile.
Sauros, Paul, the whole family — they all apparently had a thing for beastfolk. Eris was no exception, though she didn't show it openly. She was attached to Ghislaine.
If it was Ghislaine talking, Eris would sit and listen without a word.
It was like a younger brother who clung to his big sister and imitated everything she did.
"Then let's have another enjoyable round of repetitive practice today.
Here are the problems… once you've solved them all, bring them to me.
If you don't understand, ask me right away."
And just like that, things gradually started to move forward.
--- Ghislaine was an excellent teacher as well.
"Remember the principle of closing the distance. Watch your opponent carefully."
*Clack!* My wooden sword was deflected by Eris's.
"If you close in faster than your opponent, read their movement and strike where they're headed. If you close in slower, read their sword's trajectory and dodge with a half-step!"
I couldn't do either, and Eris bonked me square on the head with her sword.
Through the protector — leather stuffed with cotton — a heavy impact still came through.
"Predict your opponent's movement from their footwork and eye line!"
Bonked again.
"Rudeus! Stop thinking with your head! First, focus on closing the distance faster than your opponent and swinging your sword!"
Make up your mind — should I think or not think?!
"Eris! Don't let up! Your opponent hasn't given up yet!"
"Yes!"
Eris had the breath to answer. I did not.
I trust you can see the difference.
Ghislaine continued the lesson until she called for a stop, and I kept getting beaten by Eris the entire time.
Eris seemed to be venting all her arithmetic frustrations on me, hitting me without mercy.
I could only counterattack about once in every eight strikes.
Damn it.
But over this past month, I could genuinely feel my skills improving. Ghislaine pointed out every flaw in my technique and offered detailed advice.
Paul had done that too, but he only ever said "this is wrong" and "that's wrong" without telling me how to fix it.
On top of that, having Eris as a sparring partner — someone at roughly the same level — was a huge benefit.
Roughly the same… same beginner level.
That said, Eris was better.
She had spent years training her body and her swordsmanship under Paul, so it stung, but…
She had also been with Ghislaine for quite some time, so it couldn't be helped.
You could train an impala and a lion under the same regimen, and the lion would come out stronger every time.
Still, the gap was nothing compared to Paul or Ghislaine. I could actually understand what my opponent was doing.
Once you understood, the next challenge became apparent.
*She used that technique last time. So next time, I'll watch for it and move like this.* That was the kind of thinking I could do now.
When I faced Paul, the skill gap was too wide for any of that.
I had no idea what he was doing, and I'd go down without ever understanding.
Even after receiving advice, the fundamental skill gap was too large for it to register.
So I was constantly second-guessing my own actions.
Ghislaine, to her credit, taught well enough that I could follow along.
But she also taught countermeasures and responses at the same time, which meant I'd hesitate when striking.
However, with Eris as my opponent, small tricks and subtle shifts in movement could actually change the outcome. Because the skill gap was small enough, I could make things work.
One day something wouldn't work anymore. The next day, Eris would change things up. I could do something I couldn't do yesterday, or she'd do something she hadn't done before.
Under Ghislaine's guidance, I accumulated these small discoveries one by one.
Having a rival truly was valuable.
You catch up to someone close to you, then pull ahead.
Even if only one or two things changed, to the people involved in that narrow gap, overtaking and being overtaken was a massive shift.
And before you knew it, those small changes accumulated, making you stronger.
Of course, Eris's rate of growth seemed faster than mine…
"You're still no match, Rudeus!"
Eris stood over my collapsed body, arms folded, looking down at me with a smirk.
Ghislaine admonished her.
"Don't get cocky. Eris has been wielding a sword for more years than Rudeus. And she's older."
During sword lessons only, Ghislaine called Eris by her name without honorifics.
She had insisted it had to be that way.
"I know! And besides, Rudeus has magic too!"
"That's right."
Eris acknowledged only my magic skills.
As long as there was at least one area she recognized, she'd listen to what I had to say — at least in that particular field.
"Hmm, but Rudeus — when someone comes at him, his movements get strangely sluggish…"
"It's scary, you know? Having someone in front of you genuinely trying to attack you."
When I said that, Eris smacked me on the head.
"What's that supposed to mean?! How pathetic! That's why people look down on you!"
"No, Rudeus is a magician. That's fine."
Ghislaine chimed in without missing a beat, and Eris nodded smugly.
"Oh, really? Well, I guess that can't be helped then!"
Wait. Why did I just get hit?
"Sorry, but I don't know how to fix the habit of flinching. You'll have to sort that out yourself."
"Understood."
For now, I flinched against every opponent regardless, so it was going to be a long road.
"But ever since I started getting guidance from you, Ghislaine, I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger."
"Paul is the intuitive type, so he's not exactly the best at teaching."
The intuitive type!
Oh, so that kind of thing existed in this world too?
"What's 'Kankaku-ha'?" Eris asked.
"It's someone who can just do things based on a vague sense of how it should feel, without really being told how or even thinking about it too hard," I explained.
Eris pouted.
She was probably the intuitive type too.
"Is that a bad thing?"
When she asked if it was bad, I was stumped for an answer. This was a sword lesson, so let the teacher answer.
I turned to Ghislaine.
"It's not bad.
But even with talent, if you don't use your head, you won't get stronger, and you won't be able to teach others well."
"Why can't you teach well?"
"Because you don't understand what you're doing yourself.
And if you don't understand everything, you can't do anything more difficult."
According to this Sword King, up to the advanced level, it was all about fundamentals and their application.
Once you could execute every fundamental perfectly and apply them as the situation demanded, only then could you become a Sword Saint.
Beyond that, it took relentless effort and talent.
In the end, it came down to talent.
"I used to be the intuitive type too, but once I started using my head and built a proper theory, I became a Sword King."
"Wow, that's amazing."
I was genuinely impressed.
To bend your own way of doing things and still succeed — that was no small feat.
"And Rudeus, you're already a Water
"I'm the intuitive type myself, actually…
Besides, magic is different from swordsmanship in that you can do it as long as you have mana."
"Hmm. Is that so… but the fundamentals are important, you know?"
"I know.
If anything, the reason I made it to Saint class is because I had a great teacher."
Come to think of it, I had always stressed the importance of fundamentals while focusing almost entirely on advanced techniques myself.
Wait — what even were the fundamental gaps in magic?
Then again, Roxy had seemed like a genius type too, so maybe she hadn't placed that much emphasis on fundamentals either.
Hmm…
"Well, I don't intend to become that strong, so it doesn't apply to me!"
While I was lost in thought, Eris puffed out her chest and declared.
I smiled wryly at her words.
Back in middle school, I used to say the same kind of thing. I'd say I didn't plan to be number one and used that as an excuse to slack off.
I should correct that— "But I'll work hard to become as strong as Ghislaine and Rudeus!"
Never mind.
She had clear goals for herself.
She was nothing like the old me.
--- Once the morning lessons and afternoon sword training were over, there was free time.
Since Eris and Ghislaine both had magic textbooks, I thought there might be magical tomes in the mansion's library.
I asked a maid — one with dog ears — to show me the way.
On the way, I ran into Philip's wife — apparently named Hilda.
She had red hair and the bouncy, gravity-defying assets that hinted at Eris's promising future.
We had been formally introduced once, but we had no real reason to interact.
Right — I was supposed to put one hand on my chest…
"Lady Hilda, what a fine day it—"
"Tch."
She clicked her tongue once and walked right past me without a word.
That stung a little.
Apparently she didn't like me.
Best to keep my distance…
Come to think of it, did she have any children besides Eris?
No — if I asked, I'd probably end up with someone even more terrifying than Eris, and my workload would triple or quadruple. Better not poke that beehive.
When I finally reached the library, Philip was there.
"You interested in the library, are you?"
I asked if he could show me around, and he looked at me with an expectant expression.
Expecting what, exactly?
Unfortunately, the library didn't have what I was looking for.
I had hoped to find magical tomes like Roxy had, but instead it was full of financial records that were strictly off-limits.
Apparently magical tomes were extraordinarily rare — only a handful existed in the entire world, and none were kept here.
Things rarely worked out that easily.
However, on one of the shelves I found several history books about this world, so I resolved to study them when I had the chance.
--- When the day was over, I retired to my assigned room and prepared for the next day's lessons.
Mainly, I worked on arithmetic practice problems, writing exercises for reading practice, and previewed material from the magic textbook.
There wasn't really a formal curriculum.
I was taking things slowly, since I'd be in trouble if I ran out of material to teach within five years.
The teaching philosophy was simple: take it slow, drill through repetition, and make sure she never developed any weak points.
When I had been teaching
The reason I needed to preview magic was that I kept forgetting incantation chants.
I rarely spoke them aloud, so they slipped away quickly.
The only chants I had memorized properly were healing-related ones and the detoxification spell. I had never even tried to memorize attack magic chants.
The magic textbook was identical to the one I had at home.
Both Eris and Ghislaine owned copies too.
Apparently it was a bestseller — ever since it was first published about a thousand years ago, hundreds of copies had been made.
According to Philip, after this book came out, the average skill level of magicians had risen dramatically.
Before, if you wanted to learn magic, you had to find a master — and that master might only know beginner-level spells at best. So even after studying under someone, you might not learn much.
That had been the common case.
As far as I knew, this world had neither copy machines nor printing technology.
Even a "bestseller" meant relatively few copies, and even if they did circulate, they wouldn't end up in the hands of people who had no interest in magic.
The flood of copies had begun about fifty years ago.
Thanks to these magic textbooks being available cheaply anywhere and everywhere, the number of magicians had exploded.
The world was in the midst of a magic boom — well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but apparently
But what could have caused this sudden increase in magic textbooks?
Curious, I checked the colophon. It read: "Published by the
Ah, so that's how it was.
Quite the business model.
--- The days of tutoring flew by.
[Status] Name: Eris B.