Chapter 10 – Mindset

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Clearly, I thought I was going to be taught swordsmanship, so why am I in this situation? My hands trembled as I tightly gripped the dagger. Ulrika, who was standing right beside me, spoke as if to reassure me.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. If you stay calm, catching a rabbit should be easy enough.”

How am I supposed to stay calm? I don’t know how to do that.

“B-But didn’t you say you were going to teach me swordsmanship…?”

“I did.”

“Then why are we in the forest…?”

“Hmm, well, I thought you’d learn more from actual combat than training.”

It’s like telling someone to run before they can even walk. I clenched my eyes shut and thought of Andreina.

Why did you leave me alone with this person… Andreina…! At least if Yuika had been here, it would’ve been better, but unfortunately, she had some business to attend to and wasn’t around.

Please, someone end this already… As I desperately prayed in my heart, I felt something sharp poke my shoulder.

“Eek?!”

“Whoa, you scared me. Why are you closing your eyes? You need to keep an eye on the monster in front of you.”

The culprit who made me scream was scratching his cheek with the finger that had poked my shoulder. Perhaps because he was a werewolf, his nails were sharp. I glared at Ulrika with resentful eyes before turning my head to look at the rabbit.

The rabbit was leisurely munching on grass, seemingly uninterested in whatever we were doing. However, despite its seemingly indifferent appearance, I could clearly feel it watching us.

If I made a move, that carefree demeanor would undoubtedly vanish, and it would quickly switch to attack mode. I swallowed hard, still unable to relax, as Ulrika crouched down to my eye level and looked in the same direction.

“Observe the rabbit carefully. What do you think?”

“W-What do you mean…? It’s just a rabbit, right…?”

“Exactly. It’s more aggressive than a normal rabbit and has patterns you wouldn’t see in real life, but it’s still just a rabbit. A small, weak animal. Perfect for beginners.”

I know that in my head. In most RPGs, beginner monsters are usually rabbits, goblins, or slimes—the big three.

But just because it’s like that in games doesn’t mean it’s the same in reality. Besides, the rabbit wasn’t that small! It always moved on all fours, so it seemed small, but its body was quite large. If it stood up straight, it would reach up to my waist.

Part of it was because I was short, but it was much bigger than the image of a rabbit I had in mind. Of course, to someone like Ulrika, who was tall and well-built, it was indeed a small, weak animal. I pouted and said,

“I-It’s big to me…? It might be different for someone like you, but…”

“‘Someone like me’? That’s too formal. Just talk to me comfortably.”

How can I talk to you comfortably when I’m not comfortable? I didn’t respond and tightly shut my mouth. Ulrika chuckled as if he had expected that and turned his gaze back to the rabbit.

“It might feel a bit big to you. You’re small, after all. But no matter how big it is, that thing is just a rabbit. And you have a weapon in your hand.”

Ulrika grabbed the back of the dagger, causing my body to flinch involuntarily.

“W-What are you doing so dangerously…? What if I get cut…?”

“It’s fine. You won’t die from a little cut. It might sting a bit, though.”

Why are you saying that so casually? I looked at Ulrika with a slightly dumbfounded expression, but he nonchalantly told me to keep my eyes on the rabbit. Reluctantly, I followed his instructions and fixed my gaze on the rabbit.

Meanwhile, Ulrika moved the hand holding the dagger and continued speaking.

“You’re holding the dagger too close to your body. Try extending it forward a bit—not fully, just slightly lower your elbow.”

Perhaps knowing that I disliked physical contact, Ulrika didn’t touch me at all and only used words and the dagger in my hand to correct my posture.

I fumbled but adjusted my stance as he instructed.

“Good, you’re doing well. Now, spread your legs a little. Shoulder-width apart. Then, step forward slightly with the foot on the same side as the hand holding the sword… How does it feel? More stable than crouching, right?”

“Ah, y-yes…”

It felt a bit awkward since it was my first time taking this stance, but it didn’t feel too bad.

“Good. Now go fight.”

“…Huh?”

“I just taught you the stance, right? Slowly approach in this stance, then aim for a counterattack and slash. That’s it.”

I just learned the stance, and now you’re telling me to go finish it off? Isn’t this pace too fast? I looked at him with disbelief, and Ulrika laughed and asked,

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s weird! Swordsmanship isn’t just about stances, right…? There’s slashing, swinging, forms…!”

“Well, it’s not that complicated. Just move the hand holding the sword, and that’s slashing and swinging.”

This is completely amateurish. As I made a despairing expression, Ulrika dropped another bombshell.

“Besides, I’m more of a martial artist. Even if I need a sword, I can solve most problems with these sharp claws, so I don’t really need one.”

“Then what was all that about swordsmanship…?!”

“Because what you need isn’t swordsmanship—it’s the right mindset.”

Mindset? I forgot about being angry and just stared at him. Ulrika grinned and said,

“Honestly, even if I had taught you swordsmanship, do you think you would’ve been able to use it well?”

“T-That’s…”

“You don’t need fancy swordsmanship to catch a rabbit. You can just brute-force your way through it.”

“That’s because you’re taller and bigger than me…!”

“You know deep down that’s not the reason, right?”

“Ugh…!”

Hit where it hurt, I shut my mouth. Ulrika stood up.

“I don’t think you lost to the rabbit because you’re stupid. I do think it was a bit foolish to starve without asking for help, but I can understand that it happened because you over thought things.”

“…”

“So, just close your eyes, grit your teeth, and go for it. ‘Whatever happens, happens!’ That kind of mindset. It’s not like there’s no next time if you fail, right?”

‘Whatever happens, happens.’, huh? I glanced at Ulrika, who was smiling, then turned my head toward the rabbit.

“‘Whatever happens, happens.’, right?”

“Yeah. Just go for it. So what if you fail and get hurt a little? It’s not like it’s going to be a serious injury.”

“…But it still hurts for me, you know?”

“Stop being such a baby… Wait, no. Maybe it’s not being a baby for a kid like you. If it really gets bad, I’ll save you.”

“That’s why I came along, after all.” Ulrika confidently pointed at himself with his thumb.

“If it gets dangerous, just call me. ‘Oni-chan, help me~’ or something.”

“…”

“You’re ignoring me again just because I teased you a little?”

Even if I were in danger, there’s no way I’d call another man ‘oni-chan’ let alone ‘oppa’. I took a deep breath and focused on the rabbit.

The rabbit seemed to sense the change in my demeanor. It stopped munching on grass and started watching me intently.

But I wasn’t going to give it time to assess the situation. I kicked off the ground and charged at it with a ‘whatever happens, happens.’ attitude. The rabbit flinched.

I saw it leaping toward me belatedly, but its reaction was a bit delayed because of my sudden movement.

This is it, I can do this. I raised the dagger high, aiming at the rabbit flailing awkwardly in mid-air.

I’d never swung a sword, not even as a toy, but thanks to watching a lot of anime, I knew how to move. Being able to control Doll 505 to swing a sword was entirely due to what I’d learned from watching those shows.

The execution was far from perfect, but at least the direction was…! I recalled controlling Doll 505 and let out a shout.

“Haaah—!”

Though it was a far cry from Doll 505’s 17-part slash, it was a simple diagonal slash with incomparable force.

Swoosh—! 

The sensation of cutting through something sent a shiver down my spine.

I stood frozen in the posture of having swung the dagger, panting heavily, when I heard something fall behind me.

“Oh—not bad! That was a clean one-hit kill.”

Ulrika’s praise, accompanied by clapping, made the corner of my mouth twitch involuntarily. How long had it been since I’d received such praise?

For some reason, I felt my pride swelling. I coughed awkwardly and turned to Ulrika.

“W-Well… it was just a rabbit…! I could’ve caught it anytime if I tried…!”

“That’s true, but is that really something to brag about…?”

Ignoring Ulrika’s bemused expression, I hummed a tune and picked up the magic stone that had fallen to the ground.

“This is… the magic stone I’ve only heard about!”

At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary pebble, but it was worth enough to buy [Plain Bread] at a store.

This meant I no longer had to rely on Andreina…! If I got more used to hunting, getting a new core wouldn’t be a distant dream.

As I daydreamed about the future, Ulrika spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Alright, since we’re here, let’s catch about 20 more.”

“…Huh? 2-20? Wasn’t this the end…?”

“The end? You should keep going while you’re on a roll. It’s better for you to get more used to it while I’m here to watch your back.”

“Ugh…”

It took so much effort to catch just one, and now you want me to catch 20?

But Ulrika didn’t seem to care about my reluctant expression and casually said,

“Come on, let’s catch the next one before you lose your momentum.”

“Ugh…”

Well, I succeeded once, so the next one should be easier…? Reluctantly, I followed Ulrika as he led the way.

–

Andreina pressed her forehead as she saw the two entering the chapel.

“What on earth were you doing, Ulrika…?”

“Haha… well, you see, there were more monsters than I expected…?”

Ulrika laughed awkwardly, holding Mari in his arms. She had her hood pulled tightly over her head, curled up like a pill bug.

Her entire body was covered in rabbit footprints. When Andreina peeked under the hood, she saw that Mari’s face was also dotted with tiny footprints.

Andreina sighed inwardly as she looked at Mari, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

‘Please, don’t let this make Mari shrink back even more.’

Later, in the revised edition of the Dungeon Guide, it was added that there was a certain probability of rabbits attacking in groups, but that’s a story for another time.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Her heart is broken.

Plain bread = 1,000G

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
When something goes right, the next thing goes horribly wrong.

That’s the rule to live as a girl failure.

Take notes and popcorn, so you can watch her suffer more and more!

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