Ch.120Duel

Once, our village’s administrative office was a two-story building that also served as my home.

Originally a single-story civilian house, a second floor was added on top, with the first floor used as the office and the second floor as my living quarters.

At that time, the administration consisted only of myself, Corin, and most importantly, Charlotte, so this small building was sufficient to manage the entire village.

However… time passes, and naturally, the population increases.

The village’s (working) population has grown to about three times its original size, and to manage this, two additional apprentice administrators have been added to our staff.

Obviously, the original office—merely a converted civilian house—could no longer handle the load, so now the “administrative office” has been divided into three separate buildings.

First, there’s the newly constructed building on an empty lot, specifically designed to be an administrative office. Most administrative work is currently conducted here, in this dedicated facility with extensive stonework on the first floor.

It’s about five times larger than the original facility and was built with two floors to accommodate potential future staff expansions. Additionally, a windmill was installed, creating space for a mill (flour mill) as well.

Since grains like wheat must be ground into flour for meals, and the mill would also be useful for population surveys, this structure made practical sense.

The second building is quarters for the two new apprentice officials. It’s the former administrative building, remodeled into a two-story structure that, while somewhat cramped, is adequate for living.

And… this one is really nothing special. It’s just an ordinary two-story building with no particular features or facilities.

Finally, there’s my house, which doubles as an “armory.”

It’s a two-story building constructed entirely of stone, functioning as a small fortress where newly acquired weapons can be stored safely away from ordinary villagers’ reach.

About half of the first floor is dedicated to storing weapons, while the remaining half is occupied by facilities like a small kitchen and bathroom that would be awkward to place on the second floor.

The second floor, being the actual living space, has a layout not much different from before, with the addition of a valuable goods storage area.

Anyway, outside my stone house, built with potential emergencies in mind, there’s a small training ground… an empty lot for military training and my personal exercises.

This lot, covered with clay to prevent injuries from falls, is usually used for my personal training or for vigorously drilling my apprentice Pierre, and also…

“Sir Corin! Move faster!”

“…Yes, sir!!”

-CLAAAAAANG─!!!

Sometimes, it’s used for sparring matches with the village’s intermediate fighters, exchanging blows to train together.

Currently gathered at this training ground are four men: myself, Corin, Pierre, and Lucius Wolfblood, the father of the Wolfblood sisters.

Excluding Mr. Lucius who is recuperating, the reason these four busy individuals have gathered here can be attributed to roughly two main reasons.

First, it’s become an annual event for Corin and me to spar together to check if our skills have grown rusty… something that has become a yearly tradition by now.

As with anyone, if you don’t engage in actual combat for extended periods, you gradually lose what might be called your “sense” for it.

Even during my time in the knighthood, regular sparring was practically a daily routine, and that hasn’t changed much in the current situation.

Corin, who faithfully served as my spare, has seen his skills decline due to lack of actual combat experience, so we spar regularly to compensate for this.

“Haaah!”

“Hnngh!”

-─CLAAANG!!

More specifically, we practice handling not just swords but various weapons appropriately.

While I can handle most weapons at the level of an average knight, my proficiency inevitably drops somewhat when using anything other than swords (Sword Demon) or simple blunt weapons (Bar Brawler).

Corin, on the other hand, is a versatile warrior who creates advantageous situations by switching between various weapons rather than focusing on just one—a true all-rounder capable of fulfilling multiple roles.

If he were merely a mediocre jack-of-all-trades, he might try to do everything but accomplish nothing properly. However, someone like Corin, who has reached the level of imbuing weapons with mystical qualities, is a different story altogether.

In short, since Corin is proficient with various weapons, he often teaches me shield techniques and spear techniques that I’m less familiar with, making these sparring sessions beneficial not just for him but for me as well.

Additionally, by repeatedly sparring with proper battle cries and at an appropriate speed, we also serve as educational material for Pierre.

The second reason is… for the rehabilitation of Lucius Wolfblood, the father of the Wolfblood sisters, who was the subject of the miracle of resurrection.

One might wonder if it’s appropriate for Lucius Wolfblood, who was believed to be dead, to be engaging in outdoor activities, but this issue was resolved long ago.

The news of Lucius Wolfblood’s return (actually his resurrection) was announced as him having survived in a vegetative state, and when the werewolves came to meet him, they wept with joy, effectively concluding the matter.

This might seem rather loose, but there are actually reasonable explanations for it.

One reason is that the life force of a pure-blooded werewolf who has awakened his aura was strong enough to support this implausible excuse of a vegetative state.

The other reason is that when the person himself returns and confirms the story, there’s little room for argument.

Regardless of other factors, once the individual himself returns and presents a certain narrative, it becomes difficult to introduce alternative explanations.

Anyway, despite Lucius Wolfblood’s grand return, he was in poor condition even after several weeks of recovery, possibly due to resurrection aftereffects.

Most of his muscles had essentially reset and needed to be trained from scratch.

His cardiopulmonary function and breathing cycles were in poor condition, and the overall state of his internal organs, including his lungs, was miserable.

His heart suffered from irregular heartbeats and pulsations. The overall decline in his digestive system’s function inevitably led to decreased energy efficiency throughout his body, with reduced digestive capabilities resulting in lower energy supply to the entire system.

Naturally, this reduced energy supply translates directly into diminished functionality.

Despite this precarious state, there are a few consoling factors, most notably that his aura remains intact and super witch Gretel’s pharmaceutical abilities are available.

Gretel’s pharmaceutical skills are, without exaggeration, capable of producing healing potions from scratch. The fact that rehabilitation is possible after such extensive damage, with just Gretel’s pharmaceutical treatment, has long proven her potion-brewing abilities.

And for these reasons, the condition of Lucius, who is now doing light rehabilitation exercises at the training ground, is….

“…Hmm?”

Honestly, it’s a bit rude to say this about someone who’s unwell, but even carefully estimating his pre-resurrection strength based on his current appearance, he doesn’t strike me as particularly powerful.

To be blunt, apart from his size and build, he’s likely inferior to Hannah in combat ability.

Hannah is a warrior who can perform monstrous feats by intermediate standards even barehanded without any equipment, but he is objectively just at the level of an average knight.

Well, being able to fight at the level of an average knight while unarmed is certainly impressive in its own right, but I suppose my standards have been raised after frequently encountering high-level warriors recently.

I had heard Hannah mention in passing several times that she had surpassed her father, but experiencing it firsthand gives a somewhat different impression.

Anyway, while I was briefly lost in thought, the battle had already reached its conclusion.

-─CLAAANG!!! CLAA─CRACK!

“Th-that’s enough!”

The polearm halberd I was wielding without considering my strength at all finally gave way, its shaft shattering, and as I momentarily stared at it, I stopped fighting at Pierre’s command and looked at Corin…

It was just for an instant, but seeing the expression of pain that flashed across Corin’s face, I thought to myself:

‘…I really have become something beyond human now.’

As a result of various methods of gradual improvement, my physical abilities, including my strength, have clearly reached the realm beyond humanity.