“…Phew… Leo is quite amazing… She is able to run faster than any horse…”
“Father, are you used to being around Leo now?”
“Indeed… It would be strange if I was still afraid of her. …Good Leo. Thank you very much.”
“Wuff!”
Mr. Ekenhart replied to Ms. Claire and then thanked Leo.
Leo was sitting still and allowed him to pet her gently.
She seemed to enjoy this, and her tail was wagging from side to side.
I doubted that it had eradicated his fear completely, but it was certainly a great improvement.
“Thank you, Mr. Takumi. While it was a little forceful, I no longer feel any fear towards Leo.”
“Hahaha. I am sorry for surprising you like that. But there wasn’t much time, and I felt bad for Leo.”
“I’m sorry about that. I’ve seen enough of Leo to know that she doesn’t attack humans, but she is still a Silver Fenrir. And so I couldn’t help but wonder…”
The knowledge of Silver Fenrirs and what they were capable of would rush back in his mind, and that would cause fear, I think.
So it was no wonder that he was afraid. But still, I wanted him to know that Leo was really just a cute wolf.
I suppose it was something that a lot of pet owners felt.
“Your Grace, it is almost time.”
“…I see. Very well.”
Sebastian had been looking at his watch, and so we went back into the mansion at his urging.
As we walked, I thanked Mr. Ekenhart one last time.
He nodded in reply.
We went through the mansion and arrived at the entrance hall.
Here, the servants of the mansion were all waiting, just like they had when he first arrived.
“Now, Your Grace. Please be careful.”
“Father. I pray that you’ll have a safe journey.”
“Please be safe, father!”
“Thank you for everything, Mr. Ekenhart.”
“Hmm… Takumi and Tilura. You must continue to train diligently.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do my best.”
We all said our farewells, and Mr. Ekenhart pressed us to continue with our training.
“Well, then. I look forward to the next time we will all meet.”
“Safe travels, Your Grace!”
The servants said in unison as Mr. Ekenhart left the mansion.
This time, I tried joining them.
…It actually felt rather good.
“Giddyup!”
After Mr. Ekenhart and his guards had mounted their horses, the one in the lead shouted, and the horses began to run.
We lost sight of them after they passed through the gates, and so we went back into the mansion.
After that, Tilura and I started to train, as if Mr. Ekenhart was still here.
As for Ms. Claire and Sebastian, they went to a different room in order to begin preparations for selling the herbs in the town of Ractos.
Leo carried Sherry on her back and watched us as we trained.
And they also had fun following us when we started running.
“Mr. Takumi, Tilura, you must be tired.”
We finished our training, and it was now dinner time.
Ms. Claire was waiting for us in the dining hall, and urged us to take our seat at the table.
As we had been training seriously, both Tilura and I ate ravenously.
Perhaps, this was not very polite, but Ms. Claire did not say anything, as she had when it was her father, and just watched with a smile.
Well, we weren’t eating quite as badly as him.
After dinner, we rested with some tea, and then it was back to swinging swords outside.
“Wuff-wuff.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Leo barked encouragingly, and Tilura seemed reinvigorated by it.
And not wanting to fall behind a small, but determined child, I continued to train.
Of course, I did not forget to make herbs with Weed Cultivation during breaks, as a way of being more efficient.
After I had finished my sword swings, I took a bath in order to wash off all of the sweat and feel refreshed.
I just knew that I would sleep well tonight.
————–
The next morning, after breakfast and training, Tilura went off to study.
Ms. Claire was adamant that she focus on more than just training, and had sent her solemnly to her room.
As for me, I continued to train alone. Though, Ms. Lyra and Ms. Gelda kept an eye on me.
From tomorrow, I would start a different kind of training. The one that Mr. Ekenhart had suggested to me before leaving. And so I wanted to strengthen my body as much as possible.
Well, there was only so much that could change in one day, but I would do what I can.
According to Mr. Ekenhart, if I focused on my training for this entire day, I would be able to add something new to the regimen.
Once it was time for lunch, I joined Ms. Claire, as well as Tilura, who had come out of her room.
“Really. It is fine to train, but you must be able to concentrate as well.”
“…But I hate studying…”
During lunch, Ms. Claire had nothing but sighs and warnings for her younger sister.
Tilura was so serious and focused when she was training.
But I suppose working with your body was very different from working with your head.
“Tilura.”
“What is it, Mr. Takumi?”
“Your studies are a part of your training too, you know?”
“…It is? I think that training would do me more good than any studying.”
Apparently, she did not see how the two were related to each other.
Well, perhaps she saw the physical side alone as training, and didn’t think the rest was part of it.
“Don’t you remember what your father said? It’s important to think. If you can acquire a lot of knowledge through studying, there will be so much more that you can think of while fighting with a sword.”
“…Is that so?”
I didn’t actually know what she was studying, but I knew that having a wider breadth of knowledge would come in handy when fighting.
Of course, I’m sure a lot of that knowledge wouldn’t help her in combat, but it would surely help her in other ways.