I Wanted to Use Magic, So I Trained My Magical Power. I Wanted to Eat Meat, So I Went Hunting. And Then, Before I Knew It, I Had Become the Strongest... - Episode 7: Let’s Both Calm Down
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Episode 7: Let’s Both Calm Down
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Tonight, Father Doga isn’t here for dinner. He was summoned and went to the village chief’s house.
Right after we finished dinner, Father came back.
It doesn’t look like he’s been drinking—he had a serious expression.
“There’s going to be a battle.”
His voice was heavy.
“Looks like the Asharl family is going to attack.”
The lord of this village is the Shaif family. It belongs to the Darbahn faction.
Apparently, the Darbahn family and the Asharl family are going to war. And fifty people will be drafted from this village.
The knight who came during the day, Cain Shurard, gave that order.
“This time you’re fine, But if there’s a war next year, Mordan will have to go.”
“Why me!?”
Father Doga is a blacksmith. So he’s exempt from the draft.
Next year, the eldest son Mordan will turn fifteen and become an adult.
If Mordan had no younger brothers, he’d be exempt as the heir to the blacksmith workshop.
But we have four boys. So once a child becomes an adult, he becomes eligible for the draft.
“Until Kern becomes an adult, you’re on the draft list.”
Kern has five years until adulthood. Until then, Mordan will be eligible.
It’s better if there’s no war at all.
But apparently, this country is in a chaotic time like the Warring States period.
Why did you reincarnate me in such a dangerous era, God~?
—
Three days later, fifty men from the village armed themselves. They headed to the lord’s castle.
Leading them was Shurama-neesan’s husband, Toruk-san.
The village chief role is hereditary. And the chief’s family is allowed to carry a family name and wear a sword.
The chief’s ancestors have been chiefs since the village was first founded.
Because of that achievement, they were granted the right to carry a family name and sword.
“Will Toruk-san be okay…?”
He’s timid—can he really fight?
“Toruk will be fine. He’s usually quiet, but he leads the men well in battle.”
“I see.”
Altan, the merchant and Clarissa’s father, gave him full approval. But I was still anxious.
It’s okay if we lose the war. But if Toruk-san gets seriously injured or dies, Shurama-neesan will be heartbroken.
Besides, she’s pregnant—don’t die on us.
That night after Toruk-san led the men out of the village, I did my usual mana depletion training.
Now, I can release mana at full power for sixty seconds.
The more I do it, the more my mana increases. That’s fun to feel.
Even when my mana runs out, I no longer pass out. Though it still feels awful.
So I force my sluggish body to do push-ups, sit-ups, and squats.
I believe there’s something beyond my limits—just my own idea.
“What are you doing?”
“Training.”
“Just go to sleep already.”
To Kern, I must look creepy, training in the dark like this.
“But I refuse!”
“Whatever. I’m going to sleep.”
“Good night, brother.”
While training, I think back to my past life.
I was a judo meathead. I was always training and never studying.
In my third year of high school, I went to my first national tournament.
That was probably my shining moment.
I got injured in that tournament and had to retire from judo.
Because of that, I couldn’t attend the college I had a recommendation for. I then gave up on university.
After that, my uncle got me a job at a metalworking company. And I worked there until I died at thirty.
Anyway, enough of the past. I finish training.
I fall onto my straw bed and fall asleep instantly.
—
Today, I’m going mushroom hunting with Clarissa.
“You okay, Clarissa?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
It’s a date with my childhood friend, Clarissa.
The forest we’re in is the one we always gather firewood from.
It’s different from the hunting mountains. So big beasts almost never show up.
Even so, I brought a crossbow just in case.
Can’t let anything happen to Clarissa!
“That one’s an edible mushroom.”
“Yay!”
In my past life, it would be called wood ear mushroom. There are maitake over there too!
“There’s so many!”
“There are, but be careful. There are poisonous ones too.”
“Okay~”
Our hemp bag was full. So we held hands and started heading home.
Right now, I’m running my Prince Genji Plan so she’ll see my good side early on.
“Clarissa. Get behind me.”
“Huh?”
I detected a magical reaction coming toward us.
Lately, I’ve been able to sense even small mana from beasts.
Thanks to that, within 100 meters I can notice beasts without using any body-strengthening magic.
The one that slowly appeared from behind the trees was a single wolf. I didn’t sense any others.
Wolves usually act in packs. But this one’s a lone wolf.
I raised my crossbow and glared into the wolf’s eyes.
Then I noticed—its right ear was half torn. Like a badge of honor.
Wolf meat tastes bad. So I’d rather not kill it unnecessarily.
Please just walk away.
“Grrrr…”
“N-Nois…”
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you, Clarissa. Don’t worry.”
Nailed it!
Time for the suspension bridge effect—fall in love with me!
While shielding Clarissa, I kept staring into the wolf’s eyes without blinking.
Neither of us wants a fight to the death. Let’s both stay calm.
I moved sideways to increase the distance.
The wolf stayed wary and didn’t move.
But if I let my guard down, it would pounce instantly.
Slowly, the distance between us grew.
The wolf seemed wary of me. But it didn’t think of me as prey.
It must instinctively know that if we fought, it would be a deathmatch.
Once the wolf was out of sight, I let out a big breath.
“Whew…”
My eyes are dry from the stare-off.
“Nois. Are we okay now?”
“Yeah. It’s gone somewhere.”
“Phew, that was scary.”
“I told you—I’ll protect you.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I ruffled her reddish-brown hair.
It’s soft and nice to touch.
After that, I walked Clarissa home and returned home too.
That night, we had mushroom hotpot with what we gathered. It was delicious~.
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