Practice (5)
I had several expectations.
Just in case the kids feed me a room. In any case, the children make mistakes and get hurt. Is it really that someone else intervenes?
Or that his identity will be discovered accidentally.
I had various methods in mind to respond in any case, but… … I couldn’t even imagine that something like this would happen.
“No, what the hell are you… … !”
Who would have thought that Claire would step in while the other kids were openly attacking her?
If I had been even a little late, I would have been seriously hurt.
It was even more astonishing that he had even been certain of my identity and acted like this.
Leaving the children who still couldn’t understand what was going on, he first straightened up Claire’s body and then spoke with a tired face.
“How did you find out?”
At my words, Claire smiled bashfully and shrugged her shoulders.
“You know when you pretend.”
“So, how?”
“What do I have to explain? He was the same height, the same body type, the same hand shape, the same foot size, and overall he was a man.”
“… … .”
To be honest, it was a bit frightening.
I have absolutely no idea which of them could identify me.
No, should I praise him for having that level of observation?
While calming their confused minds, the other children similarly came to their senses.
It was a very awkward situation, probably because we had been fighting and killing each other until now.
That’s why I tried to reveal it at the right time… … .
However, I couldn’t blame Claire, so I decided to take care of the situation first.
“Let’s go back to camp for now.”
Taking the children who silently nodded, they returned to the campsite in a strange atmosphere.
I wanted to sit down and talk right away, but I had to clean up the corpses of goblins scattered here and there, and after lighting a bonfire again, I took out fluffy blankets and handed them out one by one.
As I cleaned up, I made a cup of warm tea with boiled water, and the atmosphere improved a little.
I thought I could barely talk, so I opened my mouth after looking at the children sipping tea little by little.
“First of all, I’m sorry.”
I said that and bowed my head first.
The order has changed a little, but I had to apologize like this even now. That’s what surprised the kids.
The children did not respond to my apology, and when I looked up, I could see that they were just looking at me with puzzled eyes.
I thought I’d hear at least one.
I opened my mouth again while making eye contact with those children one by one.
“A lot of you are probably wondering why I did that. In fact, this trip itself was planned for this job.”
“… … So, did you leave on purpose?”
“yes. Back then, I wanted to see how much you guys could adapt to this place without me. From what I heard, you were doing very well.”
“Have you heard?”
When Rowen pointed out the stumbling block in my words, it belatedly reminded me that I had left out one course.
It’s all because of Claire.
I was prepared to hear a sound, turned my head, looked to the left, and raised my voice a little.
“You may come out now.”
“Sniff, I thought I didn’t need it anymore because I finished my work.”
“sorry. I forgot because I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“Anything is fine, so I won’t do it anymore. Don’t eat only you guys, can I get something warm too?”
While making a cup of tea for Hazel, Frederick asked a question.
“Has Sabu Grandpa always been here?”
“That guy is looking at me and asking me to protect you if you guys are in danger. Even if you pamper the old man, won.”
“Grandpa, here you are.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Hazel took a sip from Nora, took a deep breath, and spoke again.
“Whoa, wouldn’t you ask me to investigate if there are any other dangers around here? Don’t you want to release the animals caught in the trap? They even told me to bring the goblins.”
“No, how about you tell me all about it?”
He was a really unhelpful man.
The children looked at me with eyes demanding more explanations, and Hazel drank the tea as if it were someone else’s business.
If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have called it after I explained everything.
I shook my head lightly and barely started to explain.
“One of the reasons I brought you guys here is to see what your abilities are.”
“If it is… … Didn’t you check on the first day?”
“That isn’t enough.”
At Delan’s question, I smiled and shook my head.
“It was just to see how well you handle your special abilities. What I’m talking about is your overall ability. Things that move your body, make sense of the situation, use your camping skills, or execute your strategy with precision.”
No matter how much you train, if you can’t do that much in real battle, it’s useless.
That’s why I planned a test that combines real battles like today.
“How is it that you are dealing with a wild boar for the first time?”
“It was fun!”
“I want to try again!”
While the other children were making a fuss, Rowen, who had been silent, opened his mouth heavily.
“If it is our strength… … I thought I could easily kill someone.”
“… … .”
The other children’s expressions darkened noticeably.
Everyone has thought about it at least once, but it must have been hard to get out of their mouths.
I nodded once and slowly looked around at the children.
“Now you can reap life with only two hands. I just wanted you to know that for sure. You guys are growing much faster than you think.”
It is not easy to objectively evaluate one’s abilities.
Therefore, in the form of hunting, children were the first to experience actual combat. It was because animals were suitable for opponents who would do their best.
In addition, it was true that hunting animals was less repulsive than killing people.
“Next, I asked Hazel-sama to induce the goblins to collide with you guys. Actually, I thought you would fight more recklessly… … It was very well planned. Each of them used their abilities very well.”
The children’s hardened expressions softened a little.
And Rowen spoke out a little shyly.
“Actually, at first I tried to run away. but… … We did it because Nora said we should turn the situation in our favor.”
“Oh, yes?”
I hadn’t even thought of that.
Nora, who blushed as soon as she was mentioned, didn’t normally express her opinion.
I decided to listen closely to what happened between the children and opened my mouth again.
“So how were the goblins? Wasn’t it easier to deal with than I thought?”
The children looked at each other, then nodded one by one, and I nodded as well.
“I’ve killed animals, I’ve killed monsters, and it went a little easier than I thought. But also… … Aren’t people like that?”
“… … .”
At my words, the children hardened their faces again. He must have remembered the time when he fought against me.
I know how much you struggled until you chose to fight the one who was killing you.
In particular, I was just admiring Rowen, who was trying to protect the children even in that situation.
“The second reason for even acting like that is to get to know your partner well.”
After saying that, I quenched my thirst with tea for a while and then continued talking.
“No matter how fanatical they may be, they are human beings. You guys are going to kill a lot of people in the future.”
“They are just enemies.”
Frederick said in a strong tone.
When I incited a bit of vengeance, that guy didn’t get scared anymore and ran at it. Even so, it was impressive that they did not attack randomly.
“So who are the non-enemies?”
“yes… … ? Why do you fight with people like that?”
“The Dark Truth Church is taking root everywhere. Some of them are outside of the Church, in positions leading other people who have no connection whatsoever. If you fight the church, you will definitely have to fight those people.”
“… … .”
As if they weren’t serving the dark lord for nothing, infiltration, camouflage, and infiltration could be said to be their specialties.
It’s located in a really unexpected place, so it’s not once or twice that it’s been a headache.
“It would be nice if it could be avoided in such a situation. But what if they just hide behind them? I have no choice but to bump into it somehow. Because to them, we’re the bad guys.”
At my words, each of the children’s expressions distorted.
They are not bad-natured children. They were children who wanted to commit murder only with the driving force of revenge against the Dark Truth Church.
But I don’t know what to do with people I don’t have a relationship with.
“Don’t hesitate.”
So, I decided to give you the answer.
“Never hesitate to deal with anyone. A poorly thought out attack hurts both you and your opponent. You guys should be able to neutralize enough of those people without killing them. Absolutely Claire.”
“yes!”
Maybe because it was a serious story, Claire also answered concisely, abandoning her usual playfulness.
“If you get better at handling poisons, you will be able to use poisons with less lethal power. If you’re a human, it’s hard to move even if you have a little bit of abdominal pain. Can you think of a few ways the other kids could do it?”
Once they have some power, they are usually more difficult to incapacitate than to kill them.
But these children were different.
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If you use your skills well, you can easily do either.
“And finally… … I wanted to experience how to respond against an enemy much stronger than you guys.”
“… … .”
The children kept their mouths shut and nodded their heads silently.
I don’t have to say it, but each person will feel a lot.
Children who were taken aback by my appearance.
Rowen boldly attacks alone.
Children who have hardened without being able to escape.
Then, when anger was stimulated, the children who rushed straight forward and pressured each other while matching the sum.
As expected, he had a natural talent as he was called five fingers in his previous life.
Actually, I tried to tell them not to be intimidated in a fight with a strong person, but I didn’t think I had to worry at all.
Each clapped lightly to wake the children who were lost in thought.
“Okay, let’s finish it soon. There are sure to be kids among you who think, ‘It’s nice to know, but did I have to go this far?’”
It was said in a playful way, but some of the children showed signs of irritation.
I lowered my voice a little more without pointing it out.
“But I thought it was necessary for the real battle sooner or later. There is no turning back if you show a clumsy appearance on the actual battlefield.”
“… … .”
The children hardened their expressions when they said that it was a real game.
In other words, this plan was to experience the battlefield ahead of time.
Even though I killed a monster for the first time, I was less worried as I didn’t hesitate at all.
Like I said, to the point where you can actually go to practice.
“For the time being, I will train against monsters like this from time to time, but… … I keep in mind that the beginning of the vengeance that you guys have been longing for is not too far away.”
In the meantime, he must have loosened up his mind a little while focusing on training.
But as I deliberately incited vengeance, the children must have made up their mind again.
Seeing their determination on their faces, I smiled and added my words.
“Now that it’s like that, let’s really have fun starting tomorrow. The uncle will play with you so that you can forget all the hardships you have caused. Isn’t there a huge waterfall over there?”
The children looked surprised at the sudden proposal, but then cheered as if the forest was about to leave.
* * *
two days later.
Even I felt tired after playing with the five children happily without training.
When we returned to Findel, the children, who had filled up their stamina from the wagon, came downstairs and took care of their belongings.
As I was looking at these children, Hazel suddenly appeared next to me and issued a congratulatory order.
“Once you’re done, go quickly. After you have put this old man through so much trouble, shouldn’t you let him rest in peace?”
“Oh, yes. Take this.”
What Hazel held out was a very small pouch.
Hazel, who received it with a puzzled expression, immediately opened it and froze.
Leaving Hazel alone, she said goodbye to her children and headed home. Even then, Hazel hadn’t moved one step from her place.
On the way back, thinking about it, I wondered if I had gone too far.
After all, it was no different from pushing the children into extreme situations.
Some would wonder if he was discriminating against Rize too severely.
But I couldn’t help it.
Those children took my hand to seek revenge, and I also accepted it to help with other things while destroying the Dark Truth Church.
Even if it was somewhat radical, as long as the direction of the purpose was that way, there was no choice but to do it someday.
Rize is still too early to take such a step, so she will proceed step by step.
In the meantime, while refining future plans, he was excited about meeting Rize after a long time.
“Dad, Master is lobster in the dungeon!”
“Senior Nii Ii!”