Chapter 44 – Master and Disciple (4)
“Oh, I heard there’s a cute waitress in this store…”
After exchanging her brief greetings with her Roden, Junoa gently turned her gaze to her Loxia, then approached her, waving her hand.
“Hello. Junoa-nee, my name is Roxia.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Even with the girl, Junoa shook her hand without hesitation.
Buzzy buzzy.
Touching her hand for the first time, Roxia involuntarily touched the hand of the other person at the touch of her soft fur.
“Whoops, it tickles me.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I stopped without realizing it.”
Soo-in, who accepted the girl’s apology with a kind smile, didn’t seem particularly concerned. Her twin sisters on either side of her belatedly opened their mouths.
“They said they’re going to visit here after finishing their mission today…”
“They said Junoa would follow.”
“I didn’t bother visiting because I didn’t need potions while I was here, but I was curious.”
The dog tag hanging around Junoa’s neck, who was wearing a leather cover over her uniform that was improved to make it easier for her to move, was a rather plain looking steel that was faintly reflecting the light.
She immediately looked around the display stand and picked up a potion located on the far right.
“I’ll have to get one that works just in case. How much is this kid?”
“It’s an intermediate potion, so it’s 5 silver.”
By the way, Roden’s shop basically only displays intermediate potions.
Starting with the advanced potion, the ingredients are quite rare, and there are few adventurers who can afford to pay 50 silver coins for the high price of advanced potions in these outskirts.
That’s why Roden stocked one or two finished products in his inventory for emergencies, and in case a production order comes in, the ingredients for advanced potions are also stored deep in the workshop.
“Hmm~ The intermediate level here is 5 silver.”
With a snap.
Junoa, who rummaged through her arms and gave the girl five silver coins, carefully stored the potion she had purchased in a bag that hung diagonally across her body.
Afterwards, Junoa, who had a short chat with the same women, warmed up her body lightly and prepared to go out.
“First of all, I’ve solved my curiosity and prepared the potion, so I’ll go first. See you next time.”
“Bye~!”
“See you later.”
“Goodbye.”
Shortly after Suin left, the [Open] Signboard of the potion shop was completely turned upside down. Roden was about to start a basic class right away, but briefly brought up the story of Suin.
“Looks like your new colleague, Suin, is a martial artist.”
“I recognize it right away. Mister, his outfit is very obvious.”
“Uncle, aren’t mutuga people who fight with bare fists without weapons? It’s the first time I’ve seen them.”
“Yes. It’s quite rare.”
Seeing a martial artist who calls himself an ascetic who fights enemies with his bare hands without lifting a weapon to test the limits of the pure body for the first time in a long time, Roden felt even welcomed inside.
It is common knowledge that even a child knows that a human with an excessive number of sacks is much more advantageous than a human without weapons. The difference between basic damage and reach is greatly increased.
You might think that giving up such an advantage and sticking to bare-handed fighting without weapons is a bit of an idiot, but since the concept of mana exists in this world, it’s not completely stupid.
Basically, the mana and aura of the physical system flow much better into the person’s body than the weapon, so there can be a contradiction in that the attack power of bare fists is higher than that of sharp weapons.
“Junoa’s skills are certain, but her performance is still lacking, so she’s at the steel level.”
“It’s not impossible. After all, martial artists are idiots who only practice chanting until they are able to freely apply mana to their bodies, especially both hands, as much as they fight with their bare hands… Ah, beastmen are loyal to those they once thought were friends. Since they are a species that protects the end, it would be best to maintain good friendships as much as possible.”
“Yes.”
“It’s been a while since we met, but don’t worry, we’re already close friends.”
Seeing her twin sister answer side by side, Roden, who decided to finish the story about the beast, stood up and looked at Marill.
“First of all, let’s check in the backyard how you normally hold your weapon. Whatever it is, the basic posture is the most important.”
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Roden.”
Leaving Merim and Roxia at her shop, Marill walked to her backyard, took out her arming sword and buckler, and took her usual posture.
“It’s obvious that I’ve handled weapons to some extent. Just stay still.”
Spinning around her Marill like a shark in her sea, closely observing her from every angle, Roden approached her and stood before her eyes.
Roden’s fingertips, which slowly raised her arm, were directed towards the arming sword held in Marill’s left hand.
“That’s what I was thinking when I saw it last time, is Marill her left hand?”
It was natural for Roden to have such a question as it is common to hold a shield in the left hand in order to protect the heart, one of the main vital points of human beings, as quickly as possible.
“She’s basically right-handed. That’s it…”
If the main opponent was the same human, of course he would have a shield in his left hand, but the main enemy of adventurers is monsters.
In order to surely and accurately guard against the powerful attacks of monsters, he holds a shield in his right hand that is as strong as possible and has good movement.
“Ah… I heard that it would be better if you are in a position to deal with monsters that are close to wild animals.”
I learned swordsmanship assuming that I was dealing with a person, but is this a difference in point of view?
“Of course, I kept working hard so that I could play the role of handling a sword with my left hand.”
“That’s believable.”
Resolving her question as to why Marill carried a shield in her right hand and a sword in her left, Roden decided to adjust her posture one by one.
First, from the lower body.
“First of all, spread your legs apart a little more and pull your left leg back slightly.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. Now, angle your left foot diagonally. That way, your balance will be more stable and you will be able to wield the sword in your left hand much more freely.”
“Yes.”
“Now it’s too biased. Try changing it a little more inward.”
As she elaborated on her reasons for why she was the way she was, she not only corrected Marill’s legs, but subsequently corrected her silence followed and back posture as well.
As a result, Marill’s lower body supported her body much more stably than before.
The next thing to fix is her arms holding a sword and shield.
“Hmm, raise her right hand slightly. Tilt her left wrist down a little more.”
“Like this?”
“It’s a little different. Both of you moved too much.”
“Then, can we do it this way?”
Unlike the lower body, which was sufficient with verbal explanations, it was not easy to change the posture of the arms as the angle of the wrist holding the weapon had to be carefully considered.
It was much better than the first with several revisions, but by Roden’s standards it was not very satisfactory.
“Not this time… It would be much quicker to fix it myself.”
“Huh?!”
While muttering in her frustrated heart, Roden approached the seat next to Marill, and as if he needed to look at her hand, he gently held her wrist and directly adjusted the position and angle precisely.
Marill opened her eyes wide for a moment and looked alternately between her hands touching her wrists, her arms, and her opponent’s eyes… Roden’s face is that of a person who teaches her sword innocently and without a single bit of selflessness.
Nevertheless, she was ashamed of herself, and as her body temperature rose slightly, the pounding of her heart passed from her body to her head and to her reason.
“Good. How do you feel?”
“It’s amazing. I just tweaked her posture a little, but it’s much more stable and even gives me confidence that I can take down any number of enemies in the current state.”
“That’s fortunate. First of all, the current posture is a balanced posture that can attack and defend naturally in most situations, so let’s practice it habitually so that it can come out.”
“I want to swing a sword or a shield right now… But can’t I?”
Marill, not her warlike nature, had rarely felt the desire to wield her weapon so much, but she was different now. It was like a sensation.
Roden understood how she felt, but she shook her head coldly.
“It’s not until the current posture comes out by itself when you pull out the weapon. Be patient for a little while.”
“Yes…”
Receiving a different answer than she expected, Marill couldn’t hide her disappointment, but she obediently decided to follow Roden’s instructions. Because I decided to absolutely believe in the words.
She then shifted to her upright position when she drew her weapon, and at the moment she drew it, she repeated the same motion only to get her to assume the position Roden had corrected her for.
Of course, if her posture isn’t very good in the middle, Roden corrects Marill’s wrists, arms, and sometimes legs or back. I barely suppressed my desire to hurry.
So Marill’s first day under her instruction from Roden was endlessly correcting her posture until the sky darkened over her.
“It’s already this time. Let’s stop here for now… Next time, if you have time, come back anytime at the same time as today.”
“Thank you for teaching me, Mr. Roden.”
“Since the posture has come out to some extent, it should be okay to apply it right away in real life. It’s not perfect yet, but it should be much better than before.
“Yes! Mr. Roden also had a hard time.”
When Maril, smiling brightly, bowed her head, she heard the voice of her older sister, Merim, from the other side.
“Is class over?”
“Huh.”
Merim was in a state where the window at the back of her shop was wide open and her head was sticking out, and she had been watching the two of them through this window a while ago… She is with Roxia by her side.
The four people gathered in front of the shop door exchanged brief greetings before parting.
“Mr. Roden, again, thank you so much for teaching me today.”
Standing up with her head bowed, Marill rummaged through her backpack and handed her a small package, which contained several bite-sized cookies.
“It’s a small thank you, but these are the snacks I bought from a bakery in the city center. Try eating them slowly with Loxia later.”
“Thank you. See you next time.”
Merim and Roxia, who had been quietly watching the scene from the side, carefully looked at Marill’s face, which was brighter than usual and slightly flushed.
“…”
“…”
Merim and Roxia’s eyes were especially sharp.
The two women’s gaze at Marill is not the usual gaze at her sister or her close sister… It was the gaze of a woman looking at a potential future competitor.
