Chapter 56: Time for Growth

“Ugh. Olivia.”

“Snore… Snore…”

“Her sleeping habits are no joke either.”

When I opened my eyes, Olivia’s arm was on my face.

I thought she would sleep quietly, but her sleeping habits are as bad as drunk Yuria’s.

It’s probably because she feels at ease.

I washed Olivia’s face, who was still half asleep, dressed her, and went outside.

Today I planned to take Olivia to the bard training school.

Holding Olivia’s hand, I walked down the street and entered a building where music could be heard.

This is the bard training school. It can be considered a place where all the musicians of the labyrinth city gather.

We were able to talk with the director of the training school.

“I’d like her to be taught lute playing.”

“A blind person, huh. That’s a bit…”

“Are you discriminating against her because of her disability?”

“No, that’s not it. To teach a blind person, you need to be in close contact. To teach someone who can’t see, you have to directly guide their hands.”

“Close contact…”

“Yes. From what I see, this slave friend. She’s your what, lover? Something like that. It wouldn’t be good for another man to be in close contact. Feelings develop easily. It only takes a moment for feelings to develop just from touching hands.”

“What are you talking about!”

Preposterous!

To think the bard training school was a den of inappropriate relationships.

“No, my friend. Why are you shouting? I’m seriously warning you. Having a good voice is basic for bards. If someone with a good voice stays close and chatters next to a friend who can’t see, don’t you think her heart would open up?”

“Huh.”

The conversation with the director of the bard training school was terrible.

He said the basic conditions for bards are good looks and a pleasant voice.

Male bards who meet these two conditions were like walking generators of inappropriate relationships.

These crazy people.

So it was these bastards who released charmers into the labyrinth city.

“This is rotten.”

“Um…”

“Hm? Ah. Sorry. No, I’m angry. He’s saying they go around touching all the women with their faces and voices. Aren’t you angry?”

“I… won’t fall for other men.”

“Ah, of course I know that. I trust you. I trust you, Olivia. But I can’t trust those bard bastards.”

The bard training school director is right.

When men and women get close and share musical empathy, naturally they want to hold hands, kiss, and sleep together.

Songs and dances are the most fundamental courtship behaviors in human history.

The desire to have children with humans who dance well and sing well is deeply embedded in human genes.

I can order a slave not to be distracted by others, but I can’t control her inner feelings.

I didn’t want to make her develop feelings for other men unnecessarily.

“Sigh. The bard training school won’t work. I can’t leave you, Olivia, among those men.”

“Are you… worried about me..?”

“Of course. You’re mine. I’d be angry if some other guy touched you carelessly.”

If some unknown bastard touches a brand new slave I bought for 22 gold without permission, then there will be one more corpse in the labyrinth city.

I don’t want to clean up corpses.

Moreover, if I decide to kill someone, I can leave no trace.

If I put all the evidence in my spatial pocket and forget about it, the corpse of the dead person will never be found again.

“Hehehe….”

When I got angry, Olivia clung to my arm more tightly.

I’m not sure what she’s so happy about, but it’s good that she seems to be in a good mood.

“Hmm. If you really want to teach that friend an instrument. I know one more place.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They don’t specialize in instruments, but they have the skills to teach.”

“Where is that?”

“The Druid Club.”

“The Druid Club?”

Calling it a club makes it sound a bit shabby.

Not a druid gathering or association, but a club?

“Yes. It’s quite a large gathering, almost as big as the witch assemblies. It’s a place where various races gather to exchange their cultures and skills. There are many druids there who know how to handle instruments.”

It seemed that due to the druids’ characteristic of not wanting to form deep human relationships, they created a club that could be disbanded at any time.

“Is it safe there?”

“Most of those who want to become bards ultimately aim for women. But druids are different. Should I say they’re more decent? There are many friends with somewhat poor social skills. That’s how druids are, right? They’re closer to nature than the human world. You could say they value mental connection more than physical relationships. Even if feelings develop, it usually ends at the level of mental connection.”

It seems like a much safer place to teach Olivia than the bard training school.

‘Horaru wasn’t very interested in romance or human relationships either.’

Horaru was only interested in honey.

Thinking that even Horaru joined the druid club makes me feel somewhat relieved.

If he hadn’t been mentally controlled by the warlock, he would have been a truly harmless bear.

“I understand for now. We’ll go to the druid club.”

“Alright. Take care. Ah, by the way, don’t go to the slum area. It seems a terrible murder case has occurred.”

Nodding at the director’s words, I left the training school.

Perhaps the director could be considered a benefactor.

He prevented a problematic situation before it could occur.

If I had carelessly left Olivia among the bards without knowing, she might have experienced something unpleasant, and I might have ended up killing a bard.

“This seems to be the druid club.”

“What kind of building is it…?”

“It’s a building covered in trees and plants. There must be a lot of insects in summer.”

I didn’t know such a building existed because I rarely had a reason to come to this neighborhood.

No, rather than a building, it looked like a house made by carving a huge tree.

Trees are growing on the tree, and flowers and plants are abundant.

It was a structure with an atmosphere quite different from the surrounding buildings.

“Hm? Sion!”

“Oh! Mr. Horaru!”

“Hello. Who’s that next to you?”

“Ah, this is Olivia, a friend I brought recently.”

“I see.”

Horaru nodded after checking the collar around Olivia’s neck.

You can tell someone is a slave if they have a collar around their neck, even without explicitly saying so.

“What brings you here? Are you hiring a druid? Want help?”

“Ah, no. I want to teach this child an instrument.”

“Hm? Instrument? Don’t you know where the bard training school is?”

“Ah, well. Those bard guys aren’t very trustworthy.”

“Ah… Because she’s a girl. I see. Understood. Follow me.”

This is fortunate.

I feel reassured knowing someone here.

Olivia and I followed Horaru to the leftmost room on the second floor of the druid club building.

As we got closer, we could hear the lute sound Olivia had mentioned.

It was a very pleasant performance.

While bards might play somewhat frivolously to stand out, the person in that room seemed to be handling the instrument simply because they loved music.

“Tiny. It’s me.”

“Hm? Horaru?”

When the door opened, a small badger was sitting in a chair.

It’s my first time seeing a badger beastkin.

The proportion of beastkin was overwhelmingly high among druids.

“Here. This friend is a master of string instruments.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sion. And this is Olivia.”

“No, wait… Horaru. Who are these humans?”

“This blind friend wants to learn an instrument.”

“So you introduced me?”

“Yes. You’re good at string instruments.”

“…Look, Horaru… I’ve already greeted two new people this month. If I expand my human relationships any further, I’ll get dizzy.”

“Sion here is my benefactor. If it weren’t for him, I would have died in the labyrinth. Please help a bit.”

“Sigh…”

The badger beastkin named Tiny put down the lute he was holding and extended his hand to me and Olivia.

“If he’s Horaru’s benefactor, I guess I have no choice. I’m Tiny. I’m an ordinary person who knows a bit about instruments.”

The moment I shook his hand, I could tell.

He doesn’t feel ordinary at all.

This person is a hidden master.

“So. I just need to teach this blind young lady an instrument?”

“Yes. She can sing quite well.”

“Is that so? Hmm. Can you sing a short verse lightly?”

“Olivia, can you do it?”

“Yes.. Um, which song should I sing..?”

“The one you’re most confident in.”

“Okay..!”

Olivia cleared her throat for a moment and then sang “High Hopes” without accompaniment.

Although it was a song sung in a language no one but me and Olivia knew, Tiny and Horaru soon closed their eyes and appreciated the song.

“….”

“How was it?”

“Was that a song from your hometown?”

“Oh.. Yes..”

It is a hometown song since it’s an Earth song.

“We’ll start lessons from today. Your talent is excellent.”

Tiny nodded and said to start lessons.

He seems to have really liked Olivia’s singing.

He even said he wouldn’t charge separate tuition fees.

He said he purely developed a desire to teach.

“Hehe. It’s the first time I’ve seen Tiny react like that.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He’s a stoic person who doesn’t express much emotion. He must have liked it. She sings well.”

“That’s good.”

Horaru also highly praised Olivia’s singing.

I knew she would be popular.

“I’ll come pick you up later. Learn well.”

“Yes..!”

With Horaru here.

And Tiny seeming like a stoic master type, I think I can trust and leave her here.

By the way, I feel a bit like a father.

Why do I feel good when Olivia gets praised?

‘Well then…’

I should head to the martial arts hall too.

I need to take warrior lessons from the muscular barbarian Gon, who seems like he’d be good at rock-paper-scissors.

“Sion! You came.”

“Rica. You’re here today too.”

“My body was burning up, I couldn’t stand it.”

When I went to the martial arts hall, Rica was in the middle of lifting weights.

Judging by how she was already drenched in sweat, it seemed she had been exercising for a while.

“Starting lessons today?”

“Yes. I need to train hard from today. But Mr. Gon hasn’t arrived yet. He must be eating.”

“I see. Then want to exercise with me for a bit?”

“I’ll just warm up a bit.”

“Good, good. Here, take these dumbbells.”

Seeming happy to have found an exercise buddy, Rica lightly showed me the postures.

With zero experience in weightlifting, I followed Rica’s instructions and felt my back and side muscles tighten.

“Good. Very good. Back muscles are important. If your posture collapses, you’ll be vulnerable to enemies. That’s right. Just one more. Good. Just one more!”

“Ugh…!!!!”

“That’s it! Don’t you feel your muscles tightening?”

“They’re… tightening..!”

“That’s it! That’s exactly it. Good. Sion, let’s increase the weight. A bit more. A bit more!”

“This is crazy..!!!”

Rica, this person is insane.

She’s trying to push me to my limits.!!

“Hmm. Quite good. Mister, have you exercised for a long time?”

“Hm? Ah. I’ve been trained since I was young.”

“I see. Very good. Yes, Sion. That’s it. One more from there.”

“Ugh.. Mr. Gon.. You too..”

At some point, Gon, who had finished lunch, came and was observing my movements along with Rica.

The two of them are getting along perfectly.

“A warrior should have lots of muscles. With lots of muscles, you can withstand even being stabbed by a sword.”

“That’s right. Gon’s words are correct. With lots of muscles, you gain the endurance to withstand even broken bones.”

“Exactly that. As this female knight says, ultimately the most important thing is overwhelming muscles. Technique? Before that, muscles need to keep up. Let’s build stamina too. After this is done, 30 laps around the training ground.”

“Damn…!!!”

Exercise and more exercise.

“Better than muscles is even bigger muscles!”

“Move. Even if you fall, get up and lift weights again.”

“Hey. Is this bastard resting now?”

“Is this why you paid money to come to the martial arts hall! Don’t waste money, stand up.”

“Argh…!!!”

“Endure through evil.”

“This is the path of the warrior you chose. Bear it.”

“How about increasing the weight?”

“Sion, you can do it, right? No need to answer.”

“You… bastards… Stop!!!!”

“Muscles grow when they’re torn.”

“It’s important to push right to the brink of destruction. We’re specialists.”

“Does it hurt? Pain will make you stronger.”

“The pain that doesn’t kill you will ultimately elevate you to a better level, so lift the dumbbells.”

“Sion. You can do it. Just one more.”

“Stretching is important too. Let’s loosen up those muscles.”

“Argh!!!!!”

Pain.

Suffering.

And muscles.

At some point, their voices seemed to be replaced entirely with the word “muscles”.

Is this exercise?

Isn’t this torture?

“Isn’t it?”

“What are you saying. You’ve rested for 5 minutes, now stand up.”

“Ugh.”

Tears came out.

Maybe it’s sweat.