The Tale of A Man Who Believed That His Reincarnation Had Granted Him A Japanese Sword And The Greatest Battle Sense, Only To Have The God Finally Inform Him "Huh, I Didn't Give You Any Combat Sense… That's Scary…" - Episode 28

After finishing the entry in the accommodation ledger, I explained to Jin-san, who I would be living with from now on, how I started living alone and that I was participating in a swordsmanship tournament as a swordsman of the Grosvenor family. Jin-san listened quietly to my explanation while stroking his chin.

“I understand your situation. So, you want to live alone in Redinbara on a trial basis until the finals start, right?”

“Isn’t it amazing? This kid’s employer just left money for living alone, and when I get a lot of money from the employer, I’ll spend it all on alcohol.”

Lito started to mumble “poshake~” with a happy, carefree smile while shaking his black hair, but Jin completely ignored him as if nothing was there. Since Lito seemed to have stayed here before, these two probably have what you would call a close relationship. Or perhaps they have the kind of relationship between a bar owner used to dealing with alcoholics and an alcoholic.

“If you have the skill to make it to the finals of the swordsmanship tournament, earning a daily wage shouldn’t be too difficult. Just the other day, the lady at the adventurer’s guild was complaining about a shortage of adventurers, so if you work as an adventurer, you won’t have to worry about going hungry.”

“If I have free time in this town, I help out, but still, I wonder if we really need more people.”

“Also, some spear user was complaining that while they complete the requests, they’re way too lax with time. I wonder who that spear user is…”

Lito, who was glared at by Jin, struck a deliberately exaggerated pose and smiled cheerfully to cover it up. Jin, with his pointed-toe shoes, poked Lito in the butt and then started arranging several chairs in front of the large counter at the back of the first floor.

The total count is four when you add them up. Is someone coming now?

“Enri. For now, whether we’re going to the Adventurers’ Guild to register or doing something else, it won’t matter if I can’t write my own name. They should be back from outside soon, so let’s have a little study time here.”

“Oh! I thought those cute triplets weren’t around, but they were outside!”

Triplets? The moment a question mark appeared in my mind, the double doors at the entrance on the first floor swung open with a bang. Drawn by the sound of the doors being flung open, I looked over to see three small figures rushing towards me with great speed.

“Woof woof woof! Dad! I’m back from the errand!”

“Jau jau! Papa! I delivered the letter!”

“Woo woo! Daddy! I’m hungry!”

“One, two, three, alright, all set. What do you do first when you come back from outside?”

“Wash your hands!”

What literally jumped in from outside were little girls wearing outfits resembling tavern waitresses, standing no taller than 120 centimeters. They were speaking to Jin-san in sweet, candy-like, cute voices, with a lisp. And above all, what caught the eye most were their large gray tails, about the same height as them, and their big dog-like ears on top of their heads.

“Woof woof woof! Lito-neechan is here!”

“Wow! There are also strangers here!”

“Woo woo! There are also strangers!”

The three girls, with their gray hair reaching down to their waists, energetically dashed at me, growling “Grr! Grr! Woof!” while bumping into me, playfully nipping at me, and sniffing the scabbard of my katana, embodying freedom and the very essence of liberty.

“Hey, you little brats, no matter what you do, wash your hands first. The one who comes back first gets the biggest piece of butterscotch pie.”

“I love Daddy’s pie! I’m going to wash it!”

I was being jostled around, but thanks to Jin-san’s excellent guidance, I was freed from the three girls and managed to take refuge on one of the four chairs lined up at the counter. Whoa… the power of children is terrifying, they were kicking my shins and it hurt… By the way, when Lito-san saw me being jostled by the girls, he was laughing so hard he was holding his stomach.

“Hahaha! Enri~! That’s amazing! Those cute little triplets have been so attached to you from the very beginning! Your clothes are already covered in their tail fur!”

“Sorry about that, Enri. Those guys are my late wife’s keepsakes. They were a bit more mature back in the day, but I guess you could say they’re going through their growth period. Now, it’s like having three battle carriages, Chariots. Get used to it if you’re going to live here.”

“N-no, not at all, I’m totally fine… I got a bit roughed up on my shins and sides, but it’s just a minor injury…”

A few minutes after I managed to escape to the chair, the triplets returned at lightning speed, their hands still soaking wet. Each of them, competing with one another, sat down on the chair next to me at the counter and began adorably insisting that they were the best.

“Jau jau! I’m the best!”

“Woo woo! No, I’m the best!”

“Woof woof! I’m the one who gets to eat the pie!”

“You guys came back without even properly drying your hands again, huh? You’re all in last place. The biggest piece of pie goes to this guy.”

Grr! Grr! Woof! The triplets each growl in their own way, but when Jin-san gently pats their heads, they calm down as if the earlier commotion had been a lie. Jin-san’s expression while interacting with the triplets is one of contentment, clearly showing how much they adore him.

“Jin-saa~n, it’s nice that you’re being kind to Enri and the triplets, but… what about my seat?”

“Huh? No way, not happening. It’s study time from now on, so go wander around outside for an hour or two and then come back.”

“That’s so unfair! I want Jin-san to be nice to me too! I want him to treat me to drinks for free!”

“…I want you to pay off the 230,000 gold debt.”

After being given a specific amount, Lito-san, while whistling and playing with the ends of her long black hair, said she was going to the hair salon and vanished from Jin-san’s sight with the speed of a wind spell.

Jin-san cut the pie, which smelled wonderful of cream and butter, into four pieces and placed them in front of me and the triplets. Then, while distributing knives and forks, he also placed pens similar to the ones used for writing on the papers and ledger in front of each of us.

“Alright, listen up. Alke, Teros, Rogos, the guy next to you is named Enri, and starting today, you’ll be studying letters together, got it?”

“Ruff! Alke, got it!”

“Jau! Teros, I might have figured it out!”

“Woo woo! I don’t want to study!!”

The study time with the energetic gray triplets began. The paper prepared by Mr. Jin was like the study printouts distributed in compulsory education, with model characters and spaces to write those characters.

The printout I received this time was a simple one that repeated letters corresponding to vowels and consonants, and it seemed easy enough for someone like me, who was studying letters for the first time. Also, when I looked at the bottom of the printout, there were letters and a space created for practicing by repeatedly writing my name.

Apparently, Jin made a list of practice items for me on the side. So kind… Jin is such a great guy.

While practicing writing, moved by Jin’s kindness, one of the triplets sitting right next to me seemed to get bored with studying and poked my arm, trying to talk to me.

“Jau jau! A new-smelling big brother! Where did you come from? The town? The forest? The cave? The castle?”

“Hmm… maybe from the city? And maybe partially from the forest too.”

“Machitomori! Did you come from two different places? Amazing! Amazing! Teros, you know, when I woke up, I was with Papa!”

One of the triplets, a beast girl who called herself Teros, started to play by rubbing her face against her arm while wagging her large gray tail. It felt quite nice, like being snuggled by an adorable puppy, but when it comes to this, I can’t move my pen properly…

“Hey, Teros. You haven’t finished your studies yet, have you? Talking with the guy next to you can wait until after you’ve done your work.”

One of the triplets, after being lightly scolded by Jin-san, drooped her tail and looked dejected. However, she quickly seemed to pull herself together and began to focus seriously on her worksheet.

Watching the triplets’ lively and energetic demeanor from earlier, I wondered if they could study, but surprisingly, they seem to switch between studying and playing quite well. Sometimes they grumble like dogs or wolves, but they continue to study diligently. They’re still so small, yet they’re so impressive. I want to brew and drink their essence when I take university entrance exams, and I want to drink it again when I go job hunting.

Following the example of the girls sitting next to me, I progressed through the handwriting practice sheets and became able to write my name smoothly. When I finished the sheets, it seemed the triplets had also completed theirs.

“Alright, you little ones. It looks like you’ve all finished today’s lessons properly. Good job. The rest of the time is free until the tavern opens at night.”

“Okay, got it! Let’s play with the big brother!”

If it’s playing with my older brother, I understand. But playing with my older brother… I have a bit of a bad feeling about this. After looking at the wall clock on the first floor, Jin said this.

“There’s about thirty minutes left until Lito comes back. Sorry, Enri, could you play with the little ones?”

And then, the single word uttered by Jin-san signaled the start of an intense hunt. With a fluid motion, the sword belt was removed by the triplets, and as the katana Shihime was placed on the chair, three gray shadows fiercely attacked one after another.

“Woo woo! Big brother is the prey from now on! Make sure to escape from the Rogos!”

Mr. Jin, with a practiced demeanor, pushed the tables and chairs that seemed to be in the way of the children playing to the edge of the first floor, then leaned against the wall and began watching the triplets vs. the pitiful prey, me.

With a screeching drift sound, the triplets dash across the floor at such speed that they seem ready to turn, attacking from various angles—front, back, left, right, up, and down…! Th-this is… a game of tag or a real hunt!? It’s a wolf hunt, isn’t it!!

“Yikes! A body slam really hurts! If you hit the wrong spot, it could be powerful enough to cause an injury!!”

“Enri, be careful. There was a time when I got tackled by those little brats and couldn’t stand for half a day.”

Stand on your toes and lift your heels so you can move immediately, keep your eyes constantly moving, and be aware of what’s behind you. You can’t let your guard down for even a moment! If you think it’s just a game with the kids and let your guard down, you’ll be the one getting hurt! You need to think about how to dodge and how to take hits without hurting the triplets…!!

“Woof woof! Amazing, amazing, big brother! Even though Alke, Telos, and Rogos are trying to catch you, they can’t at all! Just like Dad!”

With a fierce combination of synchronized breathing, the triplets would attack, sometimes avoided, sometimes gently caught and deflected, and sometimes jumped over to dodge. However, after about ten minutes, the fateful moment arrived.

“Jau jau! I’m gonna pounce on you~! Here I go!”

One of the triplets made a big jump and lunged at my face, pressing her belly against it and blocking my view. The remaining two didn’t miss the opportunity and, with growls and howls, they continuously tackled me. Finally, I fell to the floor, getting completely overwhelmed by the three of them.

About twenty minutes later.

“I’m home~! Did Enri and the triplets study properly? For those who worked hard on their studies, big sister will…”

The double doors on the first floor opened, and Lito-san, holding a square box, came in. Jin-san and I quietly raised our fingers to our lips, signaling her to be quiet. Lito-san looked puzzled for a moment, but as soon as she saw me lying on the floor and the triplets next to me, she quickly understood the situation.

“I thought you guys would get along with the triplets, but honestly, I didn’t expect you to get this attached.”

“According to the little ones, ‘It smells nice,’ they say. These guys warm up to those they like quickly… but I never expected them to get so close so fast.”

After finishing their intense pretend hunting game, the triplets immediately fell asleep using me, their captured prey, as a pillow. Since I couldn’t wake them up, I have been fulfilling my duty as both a futon and a pillow.

When Jin-san confirmed that Lito-san had returned, he quietly went upstairs with all three triplets in his arms. After fulfilling my duty of taking care of the triplets’ naptime, I was left with a lot of gray fur and the scent of sunshine that they carried.

“That’s great, Enri~. It seems like you’ll do well here. As the one who recommended this place, I’m quite proud.”

“Um, I’m also… really happy to meet nice people like Jin-san and the triplets… but playing with the triplets might be quite hard…”

“If it’s Enri, you’ll definitely get used to it. I’ve been through it too. By the way, they went after my liver specifically.”

While Lito-san spoke with a distant look in her eyes, Jin-san came down from the second floor. Lito-san handed the square box she was holding to Jin-san and told her to give it to the triplets when they woke up. It seemed to be a souvenir for them.

“You considerate woman, sorry about that, I’ll take care of them tonight.”

Mr. Jin expressed his gratitude to Mr. Lito, then stepped behind the counter and began some task. It was probably some sort of opening preparation. The triplet girl retrieved the sword belt she had placed on the chair and inserted the Japanese sword into the belt.

“Alright, Enri. Now that you can write your own name, how about we secure a job next? If you have the skills to make it to the finals of the swordsmanship tournament, I think you can earn as much as you want as an adventurer. How about we go to the Adventurer’s Guild together?”

Adventurer. So, does that mean becoming like Roga or Arthur-kun? …The other day, I beheaded an S-rank adventurer, and because of that, I was attacked by an adventurer clan. There have been various issues related to adventurers, but can someone like me really work as an adventurer?

I’m anxious. If I get involved with those weirdos, it will be a hassle, and after that, I might naturally end up beheading them and causing another lovely trouble. Of course, I’ll make an effort to control myself to avoid causing any trouble for Laila-san.

Lito-san seemed to sense the anxiety in my heart, and while patting my shoulder, he offered encouraging words with a smile.

“Are you worried that something like the second round might happen again? Don’t worry, don’t worry! Small skirmishes and disputes between clans are just part of everyday life. Besides, ‘Orders’ mainly operates in the royal capital, so you don’t have to worry about the guild in Redinbara!”

Moreover, she added with a knowing smile.

“If it’s a kid who might win the swordsmanship tournament, I think they would be constantly approached by adventurer guilds and clans wherever they go, and dragged into the path of becoming an adventurer.”

She continued speaking with a smile, but when she mentioned the word “championship,” it seemed like a shadow passed over her face for just a moment. It wasn’t something worth asking about, but somehow, that fleeting shadow on her face lingered in my mind.

“Understood… For now, I would like to go to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Alright! Then I’ll guide you! Aim for a big score, aim to pay off my tab!”

“Although I really appreciate your guidance, please take care of the payment for the tab, Lito-san.”

After finishing brushing off the gray hairs of the triplets from my clothes, I left the “Witch’s Staff Storage” with Lito-san and headed towards the Adventurers’ Guild in Redinbara.