Chapter 3: The Road to the Academy (2)

‘Ride this horse.’

With those words, my mother entrusted me with a horse named Silence, boasting an unusual green mane unseen on Earth.

Honestly, at first, it seemed awkward, like a poor man’s dyed pet, but the longer I spent with Silence, the more I began to like him.

Living up to his name, Silence hardly ever neighed, but when he ran, he did so with unstoppable speed.

His usual quiet demeanor and fierce running reminded me of Baldo, making me grow more attached to Silence.

In my heart, I wanted to give him a more elegant and majestic name like “Baldomaru” instead of the rustic name Silence.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’m going out.’

Sitting quietly on Silence and watching the changing scenery, I suddenly realized that.

It wasn’t my first time leaving the mansion, but it was the first time I was going beyond the territory.

So, it felt like I was on an outing, and also like I was embarking on an adventure, just like a story’s protagonist.

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Raei  Translations
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Three days after leaving home, there were still a few days left until the academy’s entrance ceremony.

There was no penalty for missing the entrance ceremony, but since it was a gathering of the main characters of the story, I wanted to attend if possible.

‘There’s still plenty of time, so it’s okay to take it slow.’

Since I was out of the house for once, it wouldn’t hurt to wander around and take a look here and there.

I had plenty of food and time, and camping out was fun, like an adventure.

After riding for a long time on Silence, I arrived at a forest near the Royal Academy.

According to the map, the forest wasn’t too big nor too small, and once I got through it, I would reach a point where I could see the academy.

‘Let’s camp here for the night.’

Finding a suitable spot, I let Silence rest and took out my backpack to set up the tent.

At first, I struggled with setting up the tent, but after three days, I became quite adept at it.

After pitching the tent, lighting a campfire, and preparing meals for myself and Silence, the sky turned red.

‘I’m glad I prepared for camping in advance.’

Sitting in front of the campfire, I chewed on jerky and hardtack that even soldiers wouldn’t eat.

Neither the jerky nor the hardtack tasted good.

‘I want to eat real meat instead of jerky.’

Since I was in the forest, maybe I could catch a rabbit or a deer tomorrow and enjoy some fresh meat for a change?

As I thought about it and tended the fire, the sky that had turned red with the sunset began to darken like my hair.

A sky adorned with countless stars and a large crescent moon emitting a clear light.

Whether it was the first time I saw the sky after reincarnating in this world or now, the sky always left me in awe.

‘What a beautiful moon.’

Looking at the crescent moon, memories of that day resurfaced.

During the last battle, many of my father’s soldiers died, worsening the territory’s security.

Bandits descended from the mountains, pillaging and causing chaos among the villagers, but with a lack of soldiers, they couldn’t even defend the villages, let alone subdue the bandits.

So, I decided to test my Baldo skills and protect the village myself.

Although my mother tried to stop me, calling me crazy, I snuck out at night and infiltrated the mountain near the village, eventually finding their hideout.

Thinking about that day still makes my hands itch with excitement.

‘Return your sword to its sheath? Is this kid trying to surrender now?’

‘Baldo? What is this idiot talking about?’

‘It looks like his brain got messed up training that garbage technique.’

These trash who don’t recognize the world’s most perfect technique!!

Thinking about the sight of them falling one by one to the technique they underestimated still brought a smile to my face.

‘I want to cut again.’

Swinging at the empty air was fine, but having an opponent made the experience even richer.

Was there any bandit or similar around here?

Being close to the Royal Academy, there should be at least one or two targeting merchants or nobles traveling to the academy.

“Ahhh!!! I want to use Baldo!! Baldoooo!!!”

I shouted into the thick forest, but there was no sign of bandits, not even an animal.

Only pesky gnats, attracted by the campfire, came near.

“Ugh….”

There was no point in getting angry at gnats who didn’t understand the greatness of Baldo.

I was about to enter my tent for the night when—

-Shhuk, shhuk!

As if the god of Baldo had heard my prayer, I sensed someone approaching from a not-too-distant place.

What was it? An animal?

It didn’t matter. Whether it was an animal or a bandit, the important thing was that I could now use Baldo.

-Shhuk, Shhuk!!

The sound grew closer.

Sensing the imminent arrival of the enemy, I turned towards the noise and prepared my stance.

‘Here it comes!’

As the sound grew louder and the bushes rustled more violently, something jumped out, and I drew my sword without hesitation.

“Huh?”

“Kyaaa!!”

I swung my sword, but seeing what jumped out of the bushes, I twisted my blade at the last moment.

“Whoa!!”

A girl, covered in leaves from head to toe, stumbled out, crying and gasping for breath.

Even if it were Guan Yu, anyone would scream like a girl upon seeing the world’s strongest sword technique so suddenly.

Caught off guard, I couldn’t cut her, but I quickly regained my composure and asked her.

“Who are you?! A bandit?! Can I use Baldo?!”

“I-I’m not a bandit! P-Please don’t use Baldo!!”

“Can’t you just be a bandit?”

I wanted to use Baldo….

As I lamented my unfulfilled desire and tapped the hilt of my sheathed sword, another person emerged from the bushes.

“Ha… ha…!”

A man in his early forties, looking disheveled as if he had rolled around, appeared.

“…You look like a bandit. Are you a bandit?”

“N-No… ha… I’m not! P-Please spare me…!!”

“Haah….”

Using Baldo is incredibly difficult.

The two people, exhausted from running, collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Ha… ha….”

I didn’t know who they were, but they seemed to have been chased by someone.

“Hey, here….”

I handed them a canteen filled with water I had fetched from a spring earlier.

Did they form a bond, transcending gender and age differences, while fleeing from a common enemy?

The two shared the water amicably without fighting over the limited supply.

“Phew….”

After drinking the water and calming down, they looked up at me.

“Th-Thank you…. We were out of breath….”

Seeing they had calmed down, I took back the canteen and asked them.

“…I see. So, who are you? You seem to be together.”

“I-I’m Hori. I was on my way to the academy when…”

Hori trailed off, looking at the man resting against a tree, who seemed to have calmed down as well.

“I’ll explain from here. I’m Boris, a merchant.”

According to Boris, he was a traveling merchant who often went to villages near the academy. He happened to be traveling with Hori by chance.

“A merchant? But I don’t see any horse or cart.”

“Well… our belongings were stolen by bandits.”

So, they must have ended up in this forest while running away from those bandits.

“Bandits, huh… So where are they now?”

“They were chasing us until recently, but it seems we managed to lose them. I don’t see them anymore.”

“The fire!! We need to put out the fire quickly!!”

Listening to Boris, Hori suddenly stood up and shouted.

“If we don’t put out the fire, they might see it and come after us again!”

“Ah! Hori is right! I’m sorry, but could we… put out the campfire….”

“No. Why should we put out my hard-earned campfire just because of some bandits?”

“They’re not just any bandits! If we don’t put it out quickly….”

“Not just any bandits? What are they then? Legendary super bandits? They’re probably just weaklings who can’t even use Baldo….”

“They’re a mercenary group that turned into bandits! They’re experienced and not to be taken lightly!!”

“Oh… really? What else?”

“I’ve heard they’re in the dozens, causing headaches for the lord of this territory! And there’s even a rumor that their leader can use aura…!!”

“Really?! Those guys are nearby?!!”

“Yes! So please, quickly put out the fire….”

Upon hearing that, I immediately turned towards the bushes they came from and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Hey, bandit bastards!! The runaway girl and merchant are here!!”

“Wait a minute…!! What are you doing!!”

“There’s a weak swordsman here who can’t use the ultimate Baldo technique!! Hurry up and catch them!!”

“Shut up!! Shut up!!!”

Why would I shut up when I finally get to use Baldo? I yelled even louder towards the forest.

“Hurry and come this way!!!”

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