Chapter 8: Abel, the Squire

Time passed, and Abel turned ten.

Ayla had begun teaching him with a real sword rather than a wooden one.

His mother was a practitioner of a sword style called Offensive Sword Style, which used a single-edged blade.

She had been certified as Sixth Rank, which meant her skill was intermediate or higher.

Walter, on the other hand, was a practitioner of a style called Swift Defense Style.

Swift Defensive Style was a school that used both shield and sword, and he appeared to be around Fifth Rank in ability.

Abel was being taught this style as well.

Unlike before, no one told him that swinging a sword would be pointless without foundational physical strength.

People like Walter who could wield both sword and magic were classified as magic swordsmen.

Abel couldn’t help but be happy. How cool was that?

His training was filled with renewed energy and motivation.

Ayla’s Offensive Sword Style, as its name suggested, was an offensive style.

Its hallmark was a variety of attack techniques, emphasizing the importance of striking first to overwhelm the opponent.

Though it was a sword style, it was clearly designed with real combat in mind, incorporating kicks, body slams, and even wrestling-like martial arts techniques.

In contrast, Swift Defense Style, with its combination of sword and shield, naturally emphasized defense.

For people like Walter who could use magic, there was no need to risk everything on direct sword attacks. So the defensive nature of the Swift Defense Style was a good fit.

Incidentally, the world of martial arts styles was said to be in a state of such disorder that no one could even keep track of how many there were anymore.

Since it was a field where strength was everything, weak schools vanished shortly after being formed.

It was also common for schools to compete fiercely, often trying to crush one another.

In this brutal survival-of-the-fittest environment, new schools were constantly being born and established.

Despite the chaos, a few prestigious schools did exist.

For example, in swordsmanship, Offensive Sword Style and Slashing Style were notable names.

For spears, there were styles like Heavenly Principle Style and Single Spear Style.

There was also a style called Hidden and Mysterious Techniques, which specialized in using all kinds of weapons.

Since Abel didn’t fully understand the different schools just from hearing about them, that was all he had learned for now.

Knives, swords, double-edged blades, spears, halberds, clubs, axes—

These were the typical weapons used by knights and warriors.

There were others, of course, but they were said to be relatively uncommon.

Apparently, when a martial artist becomes a master who can enhance their physical abilities with magic, they’re capable of feats like breaking stones with their bare hands.

If you added an iron club to that, you can imagine just how destructive it would be.

Ranged weapons include bows, slings, and crossbows.

However, in this world, there were no guns or cannons.

Most likely, the presence of magic had prevented the development of weapons that would require large amounts of valuable materials like iron and gunpowder.

It’s said that there are explosive shells that detonate by packing gunpowder into jars, but they seem to be weapons used only in siege warfare.

More often, gunpowder was used for things like signal fires.

Of course, there were no internal combustion engines, either.

Power typically comes from windmills and waterwheels, or else from animals and people….it was just common sense here.

That said, there was a field called magical engineering, and it was said to include things like extremely intricate automatons and mechanical clocks.

That’s just what Walter told him, though. Abel had never seen any of it himself.

Magic was certainly useful, but as far as Abel had researched, there didn’t seem to be any magic that allowed for long-distance communication like wireless signals.

In the afternoon, Rick came over, and they resumed sword training.

Rick was two years older, making him twelve, and his body was starting to grow strong.

He was supposed to help with farm work, but he often skipped out on it.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to work the fields. He seemed to genuinely hate the labor itself.

However, from Abel’s point of view, Rick didn’t have much talent for combat.

That was because he could barely use magic at all.

He couldn’t even cast beginner-level spells, and he wasn’t able to enhance his body using internal magical power either.

In other words, he was just an ordinary person.

Still, it was something Rick enjoyed doing.

Abel couldn’t bring himself to tell him to stop, just because it seemed pointless.

In the late afternoon, Rick went home.

Even as the son of the village chief, being the fifth son in a farming family meant he couldn’t skip out on work all day without getting scolded.

There was no mandatory education in this world. Schools, where they existed, were all privately run.

In larger towns, there were places where children could get an education, but in the countryside, there weren’t any.

So normally, a farmer’s child becomes a farmer if they’re the eldest son, and a woodcutter’s child becomes a woodcutter.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to have never practiced writing even a single character.

Even the literacy rate for basic reading and writing was likely below twenty percent. At least in a place like the Tenana settlement.

Children usually start helping with household work around the age of seven or eight.

Then, by around thirteen or fourteen, anyone who wasn’t the heir typically went off somewhere as an apprentice or to work away from home.

If they don’t, their life often ends up being nothing more than helping around the house, with only food and shelter guaranteed.

Abel used mineral magic to create a hole big enough for a person to lie down in, then hardened it.

Next, he filled it with water using water magic and heated it using heating magic.

He took off his clothes and got into the bath. The sweat washed away, and it felt great.

A bath after exercise was the best.

Walter could do the same thing, but he always made only a single bucket’s worth of hot water.

There was a reason.

He was extremely careful not to waste his magical power.

If someone seriously injured were to arrive right after he had carelessly used up his magic, it would interfere with treatment.

In the worst case, he might end up letting someone die who could have been saved…

That was how Walter explained it.

To the man at Abel’s core, Walter had gradually come to feel like a real father.

***

That evening, Abel returned home in time for dinner.

He helped Ayla with the cooking and set the dishes on the table.

Abel often asked his parents about their days as adventurers.

Many of their stories made it impossible not to imagine the vastness of the world.

For example, their stories about the sea.

The sea, in other words, was a magical frontier.

The farther out one sailed, the more likely terrifying and massive aquatic magical beasts would appear.

They were far larger than the wooden sailing ships built by humans.

If attacked, even the strongest warriors and mages would be staring death in the face.

Because even if a person survives, their ship may be destroyed.

Even someone capable of powerful magic has a very low chance of surviving if thrown into the open sea.

Let alone someone who can’t use magic…it’s almost certain death.

That’s why going far offshore was unthinkable.

That was the accepted wisdom of this world.

Humans couldn’t make use of most of the sea.

At best, they could catch fish along the coast or transport cargo by ship, being careful not to venture too far out.

Then there was the matter of the continent.

It’s said that the First Emperor and certain legendary archmages once traveled all the way into space.

When they looked back at the planet from there, they saw one massive continent, with a scattering of island chains like poppy seeds, and the rest was nothing but ocean.

Since then, various adventurers and nations have attempted to chart maps.

When all those maps were combined, it appeared that the continent stretched from the South Pole to the North Pole.

It’s commonly referred to as the Pangaea Continent.

Currently, it’s said that humans control only about a quarter or possibly even less of the Pangaea Continent.

The rest belongs to the non-human realm and the magical beasts realm.

Because humans could still travel into the non-human realm, there was a fair amount of information about it. But when it comes to the magical beasts realm, very little is known.

Walter and Ayla had once gone as far as the edge of that realm, but beyond that point was far too dangerous to enter without a clear reason.

That realm was said to be filled with deserts, great swamps, and tropical rainforests, teeming with magical beasts.

Back in the era of the great empire when humanity was at its peak, there were even outposts deep within that realm. But they’ve long since been lost, and no one even knows exactly where they were anymore.

There’s a legend that immense treasure lies hidden in ancient ruins now swallowed by jungle.

And deep within a certain ancient labyrinth, it’s said the First Emperor hid the “Imperial Sword”, a weapon he personally forged through alchemy.

Countless reckless adventurers continue their search for riches… That was one of the stories Walter had shared.

***

The next day began like any other.

The weather was good, so training involved running through the mountains and fields.

His body felt light, and no matter how far he ran, his breathing never became strained.

In his previous life, he had mild asthma, so whenever he did endurance running, his bronchial tubes would constrict, leaving him breathless.

Now, that was no longer the case. The more he trained, the more his body grew stronger.

How wonderful that was…

On top of that, he could even enhance his body with magic.

It was an exaggeration, but the exhilaration made him feel like he could run to the ends of the earth.

He returned home for lunch.

Shale was cooking together with Ayla.

She was working under Ayla as part of her training to become an apothecary.

There was so much to learn from Ayla.

How to gather medicinal herbs, how to process them, and how to use them.

And also, skills for working as a nurse.

Shale was motivated and intelligent, so she had been making steady progress in a short amount of time.

She even had some talent for magic.

She had already mastered basic water magic.

Her future looked very promising.

Shale was only ten years old, but she already seemed to be thinking seriously about her career.

To Abel, ten still felt extremely young, but that was simply based on the standards of his previous life.

In this world, both men and women typically began marrying at around fifteen or sixteen.

And even the latest marriages would usually happen by about twenty-five.

In other words, people needed to have acquired the necessary skills and a career to support a family by then.

It was only natural that training would begin before the age of ten.

Incidentally, Walter and Ayla had met when they were nineteen and fifteen, respectively.

They married after Ayla became pregnant.

A year later, she became pregnant with Abel.

From what Abel had observed, the average human lifespan seemed to be around fifty.

With a life cycle like that, it was only natural for people to start working and having children early.

When Abel took his seat, Shale served him, carrying a steaming plate in her hands.

Shale was becoming a more beautiful girl by the day.

Emerald-like eyes, a gentle gaze, and still-childlike cheeks…

Her lightly colored blonde hair flowed smoothly, without a hint of a wave.

When sunlight touched it, it seemed to shine.

Abel couldn’t help but stare.

It was during a pleasant lunch for five, with Dorothea joining them, that there came a knock at the door.

Ayla rose to answer it.

Beyond the opened door stood a person with a strikingly unusual appearance.

They were clad in dull-colored armor.

The imposing presence held Abel’s gaze without effort.

The well-worn helmet had been removed, so the face was visible.

It was a familiar one. Someone he had met before.

The knight, Fores Wood.

“I beg your pardon. I have brought an order from Count Highwand for Sir Junior Knight Walter Ray. Please accept it with due respect.”

Walter quickly stood and accepted the letter.

Without delay, he broke the wax seal and scanned its contents.

Abel was startled to see an uncharacteristic flicker of agitation cross Walter’s face.

Even when a grievously wounded man with his entrails spilling out was carried in, he hadn’t made such an expression.

Just what could be written in that letter…?

Walter remained silent for a while.

Fores, waiting quietly, showed patience but eventually prompted him for a reply.

“What’s the matter? Surely you can read. Let me hear your answer.”

“M-My apologies. The contents are rather complicated… I’ll read it aloud now. Ah…‘To Junior Knight Walter Ray. This document bears the order of your lord, Count Barth Highwand, and is to be read carefully. I have heard that your son can use healing magic. As you know, healers are invaluable. My knight order has a particular need for them. Therefore, I wish to take your son into my order as a squire. If his loyalty, wisdom, and strength prove worthy, he will one day be formally appointed as a knight. I have issued this order believing it to be for your son’s benefit. Give me your reply. Yes or no.’”

That was what Walter read aloud.

Shale let out a small gasp and dropped her cup.

Abel instinctively turned to look at his mother, Ayla.

She was calm, showing no particular sign of agitation. Abel thought that was impressive.

By contrast, Dorothea who wasn’t even a relative was so shocked she covered her mouth with her hand and stared wide-eyed.

Don’t be so surprised…

“I can’t give you an answer right away. There are preparations to be made… I’ll inform the count myself later by letter or some other means.”

Sir Fores frowned slightly.

“It is truly an honor for your son to be taken on as a squire. Naturally, you will accept, will you not? If you wish, I can escort him by horse to Porto Castle immediately. I could even stay here for two or three days.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. Sir Fores, you should return.”

Walter refused plainly.

With such a firm rejection, even Sir Fores had no choice but to yield.

He gave a small nod and offered a parting salute.

Then, for some reason, before leaving the room, he came directly over to Abel.

“I have high hopes for you. I’m sure you will become a fine knight, Abel. I’ll be waiting.”

It seemed he had grown fond of Abel over the goblin subjugation incident.

That was what he said as he departed.

Shale hurried to Abel’s side.

“Abel… are you going to become a knight? Are you going to leave Tenana?”

Shale was trembling, looking on the verge of tears.

She was like an abandoned puppy.

“Hmm…”

To be honest, he wasn’t sure himself.

His plan had been to first train his body and magic and only then decide concretely on his future.

The man at the core of Abel’s being thought to himself—

I have a deep distrust of people.

It’s probably a feeling that will never vanish in this life, either.

He had intended to grow quickly and eventually leave this place.

But Walter and Ayla were remarkable people.

They loved their child, possessed real ability, and were bound together by a strong marital bond.

Watching the two of them, he felt both hesitation and an odd warmth in his heart.

What should he do?