༺ Studying And Training Is Such A Pain (3) ༻
A languid afternoon post lunchtime.
I was just waking from a nap, relaxed on a chair that I had put in the garden.
Snap—
A disruptive noise pulled me to consciousness.
When I opened my sleepy eyes, Cariote was there.
Cariote and Cecily were fiddling around with some kind of elastic, and it was pretty nice, seeing her play with the child.
“You have to hold it this way.”
“Like this?”
“That’s right.”
Did Cecily start to feel like her daughter, even to someone cold like Cariote?
A few days had passed since the field trip.
My Junk Mansion was as peaceful as ever.
Shhhk— Snap— Crack—!
Just then, another concerning sound reached my ear.
Something had whizzed past my face and cracked the window.
“What the hell?”
How could the mansion that I had finally finished cleaning and polishing be damaged so soon?
When I looked to see what happened, Cecily was shaking with an elastic band in her hand.
“What? What happened?”
I questioned.
At that, Cariote warned Cecily in a calm tone.
“You need to aim well. If you can’t hit even once, you’ll die.”
Die?
It was too severe of a warning for a kid who was only in 1st grade.
What’s going on?
I got up from the chair reluctantly and noticed that Cecily not only had an elastic but also a strange stick.
It was wood in the shape of a ‘Y’ and the tip of it was tied with a strong elastic band attached to a cloth.
“A slingshot.”
I got the gist of the situation.
Cariote must have been teaching Cecily how to use a slingshot.
But she misfired and broke the mansion’s window.
“What’s with the slingshot?”
I asked.
So Cariote answered.
“Hunting practice.”
I see.
Cariote was teaching Cecily how to hunt.
A slingshot was good for beginners like children because it was a weapon without any complicated mechanisms.
But why the sudden practice?
Cariote explained just as I thought that.
“The first occupation of humans when gods first created them was to be hunters. In order to survive, everyone should know how to hunt. Even children.”
“That’s a fair point.”
Rustle— Rustle—
At that moment, the grass next to me moved.
Soon, something jumped out with hands reaching high.
“Shhh— shhh—…!”
It sounded like an angry snake.
But unlike a regular snake, it had black hair and shining black eyes.
The attacker from the grass was actually…
Naru!
“What are you doing?
I asked.
Then Naru answered.
“Practising stealth like a snake…! I’m carefully sneaking up behind the target and catching them with this net…!”
I see.
Naru had a net in her hands.
A net was also a simple weapon that kids could use by unfolding and throwing it.
The power of a net wasn’t to be underestimated, because once tangled it was disorienting and uncomfortable to move around.
I’ve been there before so I know.
There was a reason why the best way to catch fish was to use a net.
“Hiiiik…! You must immediately release this Sifnoi from this nymphobic net…! Catching nymphs with nets has been illegal since the law enacted 100 years ago by Great King Astarius…!”
Sifnoi was struggling in the net Naru threw, all tangled up.
It seems that Naru’s attack with the net was super effective.
Seeing this, Cariote was impressed.
“You’re lacking a bit in stealth, but the attack was accurate. Naru’s ability as a hunter is rather commendable.
“Oh, holy shh…! Naru is a natural strawberry hunter…!”
Naru was complimented for her hunter skills.
What was I doing at Naru’s age?
Probably hunting tons of Pukimon on my game console.
I was quite the poacher in Kanto and Johto, as well as the Galar Region where many Gigantamax Pukimons appeared.
Naru might have inherited her skills from me.
Anyway.
Cariote was training both Naru and Cecily.
“This mushroom is edible. This one is also edible despite looking poisonous. And this one appears to be a fruit but actually has poison.”
“To eat a randomly grown mushroom or fruit, it’s an unnoble-like and undignified act…!”
Learning to distinguish what’s edible in the forest or the wild.
It’s something useful indeed, but to teach it to kids who were barely keeping up with school lessons.
Is this what military drills were like when it was mandatory learning a long time ago?
“Cecily, surviving is the most noble-like act. To survive and continue the family line, to maintain the family name and protect its existence is to have the mindset of the First Hunter and of a noble.
Cariote’s teaching was harsh but she had a point.
Cecily must have also thought so since she reluctantly picked up a blueberry.
“Then, can I eat this?”
“No, that’s also highly poisonous. Cecily Von Ragdoll, you just died again. You’ve failed your training so as promised, there is no snack today.”
“… Fuck!”
Kick—
In her anger, Cecily kicked at a rock on the ground.
The rock flew and hit Molumolu on the side with a smack–.
Molumolu, who was sleeping in the shade, started at the impact and puffed up its fur, wriggling around to see.
━Meowww.
Cariote watched this with narrowed eyes.
She pulled at Cecily’s cheeks and spoke.
“Your language and action both need manners. Cecily, you need to be taught how to conduct yourself before knowing how to hunt. Those elders and servants have been too lenient with you.”
“Hiiiik…!”
Cecily did need a bit of an attitude adjustment.
She was sassy and had a foul mouth.
Who did she take after? Where did she learn such things?
It couldn’t be me.
Perhaps Cariote’s younger self had been foul-mouthed and tetchy.
Then how about Naru?
“This, you can eat! This one you can’t!”
Naru separated the mushroom and fruit that Cariote had laid on the ground into left and right groups correctly.
At that, Cariote’s eyes sparked with interest.
“That’s highly accurate. But this Clown Mushroom is not an edible species. Upon consumption, you experience vomiting and lightheadedness, and worst case, respiratory problems followed by death.”
It looked like a Choco Boy.
But Naru shook her head side-to-side.
“The raccoons in the forest said, if it’s eaten with a Blue Backyard Strawberry the poison gets neutralized so it’s okay…!”
“… Neutralize the mushroom? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Cariote narrowed her eyes in interest at Naru’s explanation.
More than the neutralization of poison, I’m more concerned about her conversing with raccoons.
Am I the only one?
“The raccoons told you?”
I asked.
And Naru nodded her head.
“… The raccoons helped Naru when I was searching for Dad and got lost in the forest! There was also a huge one! The raccoons and weasels kept fighting to be the boss of the forest…!
I have no clue what she was saying.
Was this before she found me in Ordor Kingdom?
Though I see now that I’ve never heard about what she did before she came to my house.
I didn’t even care.
But now hearing it, she met raccoons, ate mushrooms, and struggled to survive in her own way.
She already had a lot of experience at her age.
Srrrrrr—
Just then the sand in the hourglass Cariote had set up all ran out.
“Alright, we’re done for the day.”
Clap— Clap— Cariote put her hands together.
As if that’s what they had been waiting for, Naru and Cecily shouted waaa— and ran towards the garden.
“Cecily, let’s play catch-the-nymph together!”
“Ung, ung!”
“Catch-the-nymph…! That’s a very nymphobic name for a game…! Hiiiik…! Don’t chase after this Sifnoi…!”
Indeed, kids like to run around and play.
Watching them, Cariote spoke to me.
“Those children keep getting caught up in danger, as if the blood flowing in them is attracting trouble. Hence, it’s good to be training them early on.”
“Hmm? That’s true.”
After defeating the Demon King, my life has been relatively peaceful.
But since meeting Naru and Cecily, many incidents have occurred.
Really, there were no more quiet days.
And I suppose that’ll keep happening in the future.
If Naru and Cecily could increase their chances of surviving in future incidents, then that was good.
Cariote continued speaking.
“However, without me teaching them, Cecily and Naru already have the foundations. Like they’ve already been taught step-by-step by an experienced hunter.”
I see.
That’s what it is, I was thinking and nodded.
Then Cariote kept on.
“Perhaps I had taught them. Honestly, to think that they’ve come from 6 years in the future. I didn’t believe it but once I’ve thought about it, there’s a lot that I question.”
To be honest, it really was a hard story to believe right away.
I was the same.
“I guess you’re slowly starting to believe now that you’ve spent time with them? So, Cariote, it seems Cecily is your daughter, right?”
“I honestly can’t say. However, if that’s true, then there’s another problem. The reason why I had to send my daughter to the past.”
“The reason, hm….”
“That means I am still inadequate. The one who needs training and practice isn’t the children but me.”
She was right.
Most heroes after achieving level 40 tended to become arrogant.
Like Al Sahad of the Alubaba Thieves, the vain belief that “I am strong” would blind them and kill them when caught off-guard.
That was because the power of level 40s was in the world’s top 1 percent.
And so, it was difficult for them to be objective about their own strength.
Despite that, Cariote seemed to be thinking about the possibility of improving herself.
“Judas, I’d like for you to work with me today. If you help me with my training, I will help you with yours. I may also tell you about my tracking skills.”
Oh.
Is this an opportunity for a lesson from a hunter like Cariote?
It wasn’t a bad idea.
There were many adventurers who would forego all their possessions to learn a skill from scratch under a veteran like her, after all.
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