Volume 5, Chapter 34 – A Night at the Bottom of the Valley

Once the three-way tickle war between Chris-san, Lu-chan, and me came to an end, Shizuku-san let out an exaggeratedly loud sigh.

“Now then, why were you all fooling around like that?”

Shizuku-san’s voice sounded a little scary.

“Um, actually—”

I explained the circumstances.

“I see. So that was the case. Good grief. And Lumia-dono, we are not in the middle of town. It would not be strange for remnants of the Undying Beast to appear at any moment. I would prefer it if you did not let your guard down quite so much.”

“””We’re sorry!”””

We all ended up getting a lecture from Shizuku-san.

Personally, I was just trying to cheer up Chris-san. Gnuuu…

“However, I can understand Chris-dono’s troubles. Had I not become a Half-Black Fox, I likely would have been unable to do anything inside that cave. And Lumia-dono, you would have been helpless without Mashiro.”

“That’s true. I could hardly see anything. Mashiro is a spirit, so it seemed to know where everything was…”

“I believe Fiene-dono was about the only one who could see clearly even in that darkness. You usually show none of the qualities of a Vampire, but in that regard, you are truly impressive.”

“But Onee-sama, you’re (LOL), right?”

Lu-chan was subtly poking at the “(LOL)” joke. I think it just really hit her funny bone, but if possible, I’d like her to forget it.

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“Lu-chan, if you keep saying things like that, I’m going to pray to the Gods that your race name becomes ‘Elf (LOL)’, you know?”

To this, Lu-chan replied with a silly grin.

“Ehehe, then we’d be matching!”

Why are you happy about that?! That is absolutely not the part you should be happy about!

In the first place, if “(LOL)” is attached to it, it’s too embarrassing to show to someone I’ve just met!

Ah, right. Come to think of it, people don’t usually show their Status to others.

While I was making these retorts in my head, Shizuku-san cleared her throat to bring the conversation back on track.

“Setting that aside, I have an idea regarding what the General meant about a lack of training.”

“Shizuku-dono, what do you mean by that?”

Chris-san snapped to attention at Shizuku-san’s words.

“It is said that those who have mastered the way of the sword can sense and cut down an enemy even with their eyes closed. However, since even my Shishou had not reached that level, I considered it a tall tale. I never expected to encounter the real thing in a place like this.”

Oh, so masters of the craft really can do that. It’s like that “seeing with the mind’s eye” kind of thing, right?

“What exactly is it?”

“I do not know the method of attainment myself. However, the General did not seem to be seeing with his eyes, but truly sensing.”

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“But how is that possible? Even if one could vaguely tell by sound or presence, his distance and sword paths were perfect.”

Chris-san seemed unable to accept Shizuku-san’s explanation.

“Is it like… do you train by having someone throw stones at you while your eyes are closed, or by meditating, or standing under a waterfall?”

I asked, relying on my vague knowledge of manga from my previous world.

“Oh, Fiene-dono is as perceptive as ever. I had not thought of waterfall training, but in terms of forging the spirit, there may be some truth to it.”

“Eh? Could it be…?”

“Shishou did attempt meditating and avoiding attacks while blindfolded.”

No way. I just guessed randomly, and I actually hit the mark.

“Then let’s try it! Ah, I’ll throw the stones!”

“Hm? Very well. Then I shall go first. I will sit here and close my eyes. Could you throw a stone after a short while?”

“Okay, leave it to me!”

But what about the remnants of the Undying Beast? Well… Shizuku-san said it was okay, so it’s probably fine.

While watching the two of them, I lit the campfire and began preparing dinner.

Today, I’ll make dried horse mackerel, tofu miso soup, and rice balls. Though, there’s hardly any work to do; I just have to take them out of Storage, grill the fish, and warm up the soup.

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As I was doing this, I heard Lu-chan’s energetic voice.

“Shizuku-san, I’m throwing it!”

Then, Shizuku-san spoke to Lu-chan in an exasperated tone.

“Lumia-dono, telling them when you do it defeats the purpose of the training.”

“Eh? Ah, right. Then I’ll throw it without saying anything!”

With that, Lu-chan quietly moved to a new position.

She gripped a pebble and tossed it lightly at Shizuku-san.

Tink

Thrown with Lu-chan’s oddly adorable and bizarre form, the pebble flew in a high arc and landed about five meters away from Shizuku-san.

“Ah, huh~?”

Lu-chan said this, sheepishly picked up the pebble, and threw it again with that same bizarre form.

The feeble little pebble flew straight toward Shizuku-san’s face and hit her right in the forehead.

“Ah, Shizuku-san! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“Kuh… I could not avoid it. I sensed it vaguely, but… it is indeed difficult. Now, please, the next one.”

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“Eh? Ah, yes…”

Having hit her in the face, Lu-chan seemed a bit hesitant.

“Lu-chan, I’ll heal any injuries, so it’s okay as long as you don’t throw them too hard.”

“Ah, right! Got it!”

And so, the training resumed.

After a while, Chris-san joined in on the receiving end, creating the utterly nonsensical sight of two people sitting still while being pelted with pebbles by Lu-chan.

Neither of them could dodge at all, though I felt like Shizuku-san was reacting slightly.

She had mentioned her hearing had improved, so perhaps she was picking up on the sound.

This absurd scene continued until the dried fish were grilled to perfection, at which point I treated the two injured women.

“Shizuku-san, and Chris-san too. Next time, please use something softer than stones. I don’t really want to see you two end up like this.”

“Yes.”

“I am grateful.”