When I Was Reincarnated, All the Heroines Were Stolen by the Fake Hero ~ The Guy Who Dominated With Original Story Knowledge, and Me Who Dominated With Talent. It Seems the World After the Ending Is My One-Man Stage ~ - Episode 30

Episode 30

The day after we received the news of Vegetoria’s recapture.

From early morning, I was sitting on a bench in the mansion’s garden. I was pondering the next move.

The reconstruction of the reclaimed land had begun. But the fundamental lack of manpower was still unsolvable.

Suddenly, a passage from an old document I had found in the study crossed my mind.

It described races like elves and dwarves—beings now considered nothing more than fairy tales.

But the Thunder Beast Tribe—beastfolk—had turned out to be real.

If that’s the case, there’s a good chance those other races also still exist somewhere in this world.

Now that I think about it, during our journey to defeat the Demon King, Nergo had often said he wanted to meet an elf.

He used to insist, “I just know there’s got to be an elven village out there!”—and dragged us around on detours chasing that dream.

In the end, we encountered a decent number of beastfolk. But we never once saw any elves or dwarves…

As I reminisced about that journey, I noticed a carriage stopping in front of the mansion.

I looked over and saw a familiar black-haired boy gracefully hop down from the wagon.

It was Ron.

He exchanged a few words with the soldier who had been acting as the coachman.

While he was doing that, I stood and walked over. Just as the carriage began to pull away, I called out to him.

“Ron, what brings you all the way out here? I thought you were taking a break for a while.”

Ron flinched slightly in surprise when he saw me. He then glanced around as if unsure how to say something.

“Um… I wanted to ask you to teach me how to fight.”

“How to fight? I think you’re already strong enough as you are.”

I replied. But Ron shook his head.

Then, he looked straight into my eyes.

“Watching you fight Lin-nee, I knew right away—you’re not just anybody. If I’m going to learn, I want it to be from the strongest.”

In his eyes, I could see genuine determination and a desire to grow.

Rather than stress alone over the future of this domain, it might be a nice break to train with someone like this and communicate through physical exchange.

“…Alright. If I’ve got the time, I’ll help you out.”

“Really!? Thanks, Boss!”

Hearing my answer, Ron’s face lit up with pure joy.

We moved to a slightly open area behind the mansion.

I grabbed a training wooden shield and sword, handed the sword to Ron, and readied the shield myself.

“Alright, Ron. No magic. Otherwise, you’re free to attack however you want.”

“Got it.”

He nodded, and I said, “Whenever you’re ready.”

The moment I said that, Ron’s presence shifted.

The calm aura he had moments ago vanished. It was replaced with sharp focus as he locked eyes on me.

The next instant, he closed the distance so fast it was as if he’d disappeared.

He launched a relentless flurry of strikes. And I parried them lightly with my shield.

*Clack, clack*—sharp, dry sounds echoed with each blow. Every single strike carried weight unthinkable for a wooden sword.

Then, Ron suddenly backed off, leapt high using his beastlike athleticism, and came down with a powerful overhead strike aimed straight at my head.

(As expected of a beastfolk. He’s not only fast, but also good at these brute-force moves. But…)

I didn’t block the strike—I simply shifted my body slightly to the side.

As Ron overextended and lost balance, I gently tapped the edge of my shield against his temple.

“Ugh…”

He grunted, clutching his head.

“That was terrible… Why am I—who should be physically superior—so easily beaten by a human like you?”

He muttered in frustration. I quietly pointed out:

“True, beastfolk possess exceptional physical abilities. But you rely too much on that. You’re always focused on overpowering your opponent with strength and speed. And it makes you weak to setups and counters—like feints and traps.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Let’s see… For example, you could try making lighter attacks to test your opponent’s reactions. Or pretend to attack but actually do something else—a feint. In short, what you need is more variation in your fighting style.”

“Feints… I’m not good with that kind of drawn-out, calculated stuff…”

“That might be fine against unintelligent monsters. But if you’re fighting humans—or intelligent monsters—those kinds of mind games are essential.”

“I see…”

Ron nodded slowly. He was seriously taking in every word.

—

We continued training with more back-and-forth like that. It was until I noticed Sebas and Kotama walking over from the mansion.

“We heard a sudden noise and wondered what was happening… so it was training with Ron-sama, I see.”

Sebas said with a gentle smile.

“Yeah, I watched a little. You two were amazing!”

Kotama clapped her hands lightly.

At those words, Ron cried out:

“Wha—!? Y-you were watching!?”

His face turned red in an instant.

“N-not at all! I didn’t stand a chance against the Boss…”

He scratched his head, flustered. The look on his face was no longer that of a warrior—but a boy his age.

“Well then, it’s almost lunchtime. Ron-sama, since you’re here, why not join us for a meal?”

Sebas offered kindly with a smile. He then paused as if recalling something.

“Ah, come to think of it, the Thunder Beast Tribe doesn’t like cooked food, do they?”

Hearing that, I felt a mischievous urge bubble up.

“Really? That’s a shame. Kotama’s cooking is amazing, you know.”

I said teasingly, and Ron’s ears twitched.

“K-Kotama’s cooking!?”

“Yes. I make all the food here at the mansion.”

Kotama said cheerfully. Hearing that, Ron forgot all his embarrassment and blurted out:

“I wanna try it!!”

His enthusiasm was so intense that Sebas and I exchanged glances and chuckled.

Sebas nodded knowingly.

“Very well. Shall we prepare a serving for you?”

“Yes, please!”

Ron nodded enthusiastically.

And so, Kotama, Sebas, and a very excited Ron headed into the mansion together.

As they left, Sebas looked back and said,

“Yutaka-sama, I’ll be waiting in your room later.”

I waved and replied, “Alright, I’ll be there soon.”

Then I began cleaning up the training equipment and prepared to head back to the mansion.

—

That’s when it happened.

Another carriage came to a quiet stop in front of the mansion.

This one carried a lot of baggage in the back.

At a glance, it looked like any traveling merchant’s wagon…

But the driver, seated at the front, wore a deep hood pulled low. They were hiding their face completely.

A merchant, arriving now, in this place…?

I silently kept my guard up toward this suspicious visitor.