Chapter 15: Elves Are Mystical… At Least in Appearance

We kept climbing the mountain, shrouded in mist. At the base, it had only been a light haze, but the higher we went, the thicker the fog became.

It was called the “Forest of Demonic Mist,” but in reality, it was a mountain—and a very tall one at that. We had been walking for over three hours, yet there was still no sign of the summit.

There wasn’t even a proper path. We simply followed desperately behind the knight captain leading the way. At this point, I was unpleasantly convinced that just keeping up like this already counted as leg training.

More importantly, the fog was so dense that we could barely see even five meters ahead. Because of that, those who weren’t used to this kind of terrain had no choice but to hold hands as they moved forward.

Better that than being grabbed at suddenly when someone tripped.

"...Huff... huff..."

"Haah... haah... Captain... how about we take a break? Some of us are reaching our limit."

"Hm, is that so? Then there is a small clearing a little further ahead. Let us rest there."

Through the hand I was holding, I could feel Alicia—the "Saint" traveling with us—reaching her limit, so I suggested a break. It was only natural. She had hardly ever left the royal capital before, so there was no way she’d ever spent her life trekking through mountain paths like this.

Even when she did leave the capital, her destinations were always well-maintained cities in other countries. A life surrounded by nature—forests and mountains—was completely foreign to her.

As for me, I’d been a wild kid who used the forest near my hometown as a playground since I was little. I’d even run away from home and lived in the forest for a while—a true feral child. The villagers had even given me the nickname "Monkey Boy."

So this level of exertion only left me slightly out of breath, even while pulling Alicia along.

Meanwhile, Hikari—my childhood friend, formerly in a maid outfit and now in a military uniform—looked completely unfazed.

I had more raw stamina, but she was incredibly efficient in how she used her body, never wasting energy. She was extremely reliable... but honestly, it irritated me a bit. One day, I’d like to wipe that calm expression off her face—but that’s a secret.

"Now then, let’s take a break. I’ll go gather some food. I’ll leave markers, so you should be able to find your way back here without getting lost."

"Okay, thanks!"

And as expected—no, as only natural—the knight captain, who didn’t look tired in the slightest, disappeared into the mist.

He mentioned there was a river nearby, so he’d probably go catch fish. Since he didn’t have any fishing gear, I figured he intended to just wade in and catch them with his bare hands.

"You know... if you had to say whether the captain is more like a person or a bear, he’s definitely closer to a bear."

"You should stop saying that. You never know what’ll happen if he hears you."

"Pfft—"

Someone couldn’t help but laugh, probably imagining the captain scooping fish out of a river like a bear. It was Alicia—her face, which had been exhausted from the climb, now brightening slightly.

Maybe she was embarrassed for laughing, because she covered her flushed face with her hands. Every little gesture of hers was just... adorable. As expected.

"S-Sorry... that description just caught me off guard..."

"If someone you know gets compared to a bear, you can’t help but laugh. I mean, it actually fits. He’s tall, muscular..."

"I’ve heard he uses a greatsword. You’d need that kind of build to wield one freely."

"The captain apparently doesn’t have much magical power, and the only magic he can use is physical enhancement. Even then, he only uses it in emergencies, so that strength and stamina are probably his natural abilities."

Come to think of it, most people in this world have magical power. Many of the magical tools used in daily life run on it or use it as an on-off switch.

But having magical power doesn’t mean you can use magic. Most people simply don’t have enough. That’s why ordinary villagers and townsfolk rarely ever see magic in action. Those who use it tend to be knights, mercenaries, or hunters—people who need combat skills—and even among them, only a few can actually use magic.

The reason is that women tend to be better at generating magical power. This supports the theory that magic is derived from life force.

Since women possess stronger life energy due to their ability to bear children, it’s believed they can produce more magical power as a result. That’s the prevailing theory.

So men with large reserves of magical power are rare. Only an exceptional few can use magic. When Alicia said the captain doesn’t have much magical power, that’s only because she’s a "Saint" capable of freely using light magic. For a man, he actually has more than enough.

Apparently, someone like me—who can store a large amount of magical power and also recover it quickly—is extremely rare. Or so I’ve heard from Clarisse. Any knowledge I had from my past life has long since faded. The only thing I still remember clearly is my love for perfect pairings.

That said, you might think women are stronger than men in this world—but men make up for their lack of magical power with overwhelming physical ability. The difference isn’t even comparable to what it was in my previous life.

Firearms do exist in this world, but they’re hardly used. That’s because many knights can keep fighting even after being shot, suffering only minor injuries. The more a man trains, the stronger his physical abilities become.

In fact, there’s probably only one person in this world who uses a gun as their main weapon.

Anyway, having both high magical power and the physical advantages of a man makes me one of the most naturally gifted fighters in this world. Not that I asked for it. It’s too late to complain—but I’ll at least grumble a little.

"Swinging around a greatsword as tall as you are... how much training does that even take? I feel like you couldn’t use something like that in a place with this many obstacles."

"No, the captain can cut through trees with ease... so it shouldn’t hinder him at all, even here."

"And I’m about to be trained by someone like that? Am I going to die???"

I had no idea what kind of training awaited us, but my current physical ability wasn’t anything special. Of course, I’d give it my all—but that didn’t mean I wanted something unbearably painful.

"He said you won’t even have time to think about things like that while training. Your mind will be completely filled with the instinct to survive."

"Can you explain how that’s supposed to be reassuring, from start to finish?"

"I’ll stick with you from beginning to end."

Hikari smiled—a strong yet beautiful smile.

At this rate, I might fall for her. Well... I already have.

Still, putting that aside, I didn’t like the idea of Hikari being put through harsh training. Hikari is Hikari—not Hikaru—but her talent is probably the same. Her combat sense is likely exceptional... maybe even better than mine.

Even so, I’m not enough of a man to feel happy hearing that the girl I love will be trained for combat. Thankfully, I was the one chosen as the Sword King, not her. I just want her to live peacefully.

Peace... we never truly understood how precious and sacred it was.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN SMELL A MAGICAL ITEM HERE!!! AND A VERY RARE ONE AT THAT!!! SHOW IT TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! LET ME SEE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"

Suddenly, without any warning, a figure appeared before us—swaying unsteadily like a ghost as she slowly approached.

She was beautiful... and cute. Slightly shorter than Alicia, with long jade-colored hair that shimmered even in the thick fog like a gemstone.

Most striking of all were her long ears peeking through her hair—a defining trait of elves, the classic fantasy race. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been thrilled to see one for the first time.

Yes... she was probably beautiful.

But right now, the girl in front of us was nothing but a terrifying enemy. Her gray eyes were bloodshot, locked onto the holy sword at my waist, completely oblivious to everything else.

Not knowing how to deal with her, I drew my unfamiliar sword and stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind me.

Her target was obvious. If anything happened, I’d have to fight. Elves are magic experts—unpredictable, with countless tricks up their sleeves.

Then I’d have to strike first—

"What do you think you’re doing, you fool? Stop casting such indecent eyes upon my lord."

"Ow!? W-What are you doing!? If you damage my brain when I’m the one you need, then what was the point of coming here!?"

My preparations were rendered meaningless as a large man emerged from the mist behind her.

The knight captain had appeared without a sound and smacked the elf girl on the head through her hat with his fist.

Thud!

The dull impact echoed, and the girl protested angrily—but the captain ignored her, walking toward us while holding several large fish in his right hand.

"Your Majesty, my apologies for the delay. I’ve brought food and will prepare it shortly."

"Ah, yeah... that’s fine, but—who exactly is she...?"

I’d thought this before, but he might actually be a bit of an airhead. In this situation, that’s not what he should be concerned about.

"Ah, this one is an illegal resident elf who has taken it upon herself to live in this forest. I contacted her beforehand and instructed her to meet us here to assist with your training."

"Coming from an elf with a warped sense of time, I feel like you could’ve at least told me what day you’d arrive!"

So she wasn’t an enemy at all—just an enthusiast who got overly excited after spotting a magical item like the holy sword. And she was supposed to help train us? That was... incredibly concerning.

"I’m seriously worried about having her help with our training."

"I understand your concern, but her ability is the real deal. Her personality, however, is thoroughly broken."

As expected of Hikari!! Saying what we couldn’t out loud without hesitation!!! That kind of blunt honesty is so cool it’s destroying my confidence as a man!!!

"How rude. Compared to how I used to be, I’m already exercising far more restraint than you can imagine."

If this was her being restrained, what kind of bizarre behavior did she used to have...? I was curious—but I definitely didn’t want to know.

If it were me, I’d never want to talk about it.

"Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Carol Maximilian. I’ll be in charge of your training for one month in real time. It’s going to be quite harsh, so you’d better prepare yourselves—because there’s no running away."

And so, our brutal training began—with the meeting of a very peculiar individual.