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Chapter 17 – Banquet ①
The fight with the knight had ended. Gerda ran over to Kurena.
Gerda checked Kurena for injuries. She had sparred with Allen hundreds of times before, so Kurena gave him a face like “what are you doing?” but he checked her face and limbs to make sure she was okay. She had received a kick from Wraybrand, the lieutenant knight commander, and flew over 50 feet before crashing into a wall. Gerda also checked her torso, but Kurena was simply giggling because she was ticklish.
There wasn’t a single scratch, not even a bruise. There was only a bit of dirt on her clothes.
(Hm. I didn’t know she was this sturdy. Even though we were only using wooden swords when we played knights, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her injured.)
Allen and Kurena played knights for an hour each day. Allen would often get bruises on his arms and legs, but he couldn’t remember Kurena ever getting hurt.
When the knight commander saw that Kurena didn’t have a single scratch, he broke out in a cold sweat. She was completely fine, even though her opponent had to be carried out of the square.
“You’ve raised the Sword Saint well. Her strength was astounding.”
While Gerda was still checking Kurena, the knight commander spoke to him.
Gerda was wary. He was called to square and suddenly his daughter was forced to fight a knight. It was good that she won, but she could have died.
The knight commander reached out his hand. Gerda wondered if the knight commander was asking for forgiveness by offering a handshake. Gerda had always had a short temper. The blood rushed to his head and his face turned red. Whenever he fought with Rodan, Gerda usually struck first.
But Gerda simply offered his hand. That was the difference between a knight commander and a serf. It was the difference between heaven and earth. His beloved child, his best friend, and his best friend’s child were all present. With a red face, Gerda suppressed his anger, and politely held out his hand.
Clink
Gerda was surprised. In his hand was something hard. He felt coins. He hid his surprise and withdrew his hand without a sound. A quick glance revealed that there were about 3 gold coins. While pretending it was a normal handshake, the knight commander had slid Gerda some money.
“So, Mayor. Would you have some time to talk about the future?”
“Y-yes. We are preparing a banquet at my house.”
The knight commander started talking to the mayor like nothing had happened. It seemed that, because of the serfs and commoners around, the knight commander carefully hid the large amount of money he had just handed over.
“That sounds great. Gerda, would you and your daughter join us?”
“Eh? Ah, yeah.”
He replied, but then glanced at Rodan.
“Hm? Ah, yes. You may bring your friend if you so wish.”
Maybe he was trying to get Gerda to lower his guard. Gerda looked at Rodan and nodded for them to come with. Kurena told Allen to go too.
The mayor told everyone to go to his house after three o’clock because he still had some preparations to make for the banquet. Rodan said that he would go and tell Mitilda and Theresia, and that Allen should stay with Gerda and Kurena.
The kids went with Gerda. They had never been to this area, basically the heart of the village, and they were greeted with many new sights.
(It’s pretty big. More than 100 people were gathered in the square earlier, and the population of the village is around 300.)
Since this was the center of the village, there were a number of shops. Allen’s gaze drifted to a corner that seemed to be a commercial district.
(Oh, a weapon shop. And that shop has leaves in it. Is it a vegetable shop? No, it looks more like an apothecary.)
While following Gerda, he examined the shops all around.
Not far from the plaza was the mayor’s house. It was Allen’s first time seeing it, and he thought it fairly large. It was about the size of two houses in the real world. Allen thought that it was a very solid house, partly because he had been living in a shack these past few years.
Gerda was asked to wait while the preparations were being made, and they were shown a room, possibly a guest room, to relax.
(So the Knights arrived shortly after 12 o’clock, and the banquet starts at 3 or 4. Oops, I should probably Create and Synthesize.)
Allen checked the grimoire to see if his MP had been restored. Gerda and Kurena were both there, but it didn’t matter because only Allen could see the cards and the grimoire. He created and synthesized cards for the skill EXP.
Since he was 1, this had been his daily routine for leveling his summoning skills. At first, he could only do it twice a day reliably, but now it was up to 3 times. He believed that, if he wanted to get stronger, he had to do this daily routine diligently, nonstop.
After his daily routine, which only took a few seconds, he looked around the room.
(The mayor really has a different quality of life than the serfs.)
For now, there was nothing to do. At home, there was a lot to do, like taking care of Mash, investigating his summons, and throwing stones. But here, he was bored. He started to understand why Reversi was so popular in isekai novels, and started nodding off. After Allen fell asleep, Kurena did too, leaning on him. While they rested, deep asleep, Gerda looked at them with soft eyes.
“Oi, looks like it’s about to start.”
“P-papa?”
Rubbing his eyes, Allen looked around and saw Rodan, which reminded him that he had come to the mayor’s house and napped for 2 hours.
He followed Rodan and Gerda to the banquet hall.
He could hear buzzing. There were already quite a few people here – nearly a dozen knights, some villagers, even some children. It was a pretty big room.
(Oh? Is that the mayor’s kid and that other kid? The one who was an Axeman.)
Apparently, it the banquet wasn’t just for the mayor, the knights, and Gerda. There were also some well-dressed villagers. They were probably some influential people from the village.
Allen was told to sit down in a fancy chair. At the table was the knight captain, the mayor, a woman and a child (probably the mayor’s family), and a child with an ax and what was probably his parents. There were about 3 tables, and this one was the most important one. Other knights and villagers were at the other two tables.
Because the Sword Saint had arrived, the banquet began. The mayor and the knight commander made some opening remarks, but Allen wasn’t really paying attention. It was some greeting for the people of the frontier village.
(Oh! Mormo fruits! I have to bring 2, no, three home to Mama!)
Allen noticed an otherworldly fruit called the Mormo on the table and decided to take some home as a gift.
He ate as he pleased. The knights also ate generously, perhaps it had been a long journey. The murderous attitude they had when they first met seemed like a distant lie.
Ah, and the lieutenant commander wasn’t here. Allen wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t ready to eat yet, or if it was still awkward because of the fight with Kurena.
(The atmosphere around the knights has changed, maybe because they found out that Kurena is a real Sword Saint. But if she wasn’t, they would have really punished her.)
While Allen was thinking about this, the knight commander spoke to the mayor.
“Ah yes, as the mayor, you’ve done a great job with the frontier village. I was here three years ago, and it has come a long way since then.”
“T-thank you. All the villagers have been working hard for the sake of the village.”
The mayor acted very humble. Looking closer, he was over 40 years old, and was fairly fat. It probably wasn’t genetic because his child was quite thin.
“That’s why… I’m sorry to have to break the news to you. I know you’ve worked tirelessly for the past 10 years to build up this village, but…”
“Eh? What is it?”
The mayor looked as if something bad was about to happen.
“I heard from the lord that, if the Sword Saint was real, this village would be named Kurena Village.”
” ” ” “Eh?” ” ” “
Until now, it was just called the frontier village. It was said that the village would be named this year. Originally, everyone thought that the village would be named after the mayor, who was instrumental to the founding of the village. But the lord had decided that it would be named after Kurena. The apologetic knight commander could only express his condolences.
(Is he lower than I first thought, or is this just how it works?)
“W-well, yes. If it is the lord’s will.”
He didn’t object. Or maybe, objecting wouldn’t have change anything.
(I see, so this village will be known as the Sword Saint’s birthplace.)
It was pretty early in the banquet, but he wanted to get it out of the way. As they spoke, more and more food was brought in. It had been a while since Allen had eaten anything other than roasted or boiled vegetables and meat. As he ate with a gusto, he hid one, and then another, Mormo fruit at his feet.
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