At the hideout, training was underway with Saya at its center.
Normally, ten to fifteen people would have been training, but from today, there were only four.
“Lord Hess, you have returned.”
“How are things?”
“The requests are being handled smoothly.”
In one corner, the Three Idiots were thrusting, slashing, and shooting at training dummies.
‘Come to think of it, I still do not know those bastards’ names. Well, I will use them as a set anyway, so does it matter?’
And beside them, Aike was swinging a dagger with awkward movements.
Hess thought that even if he made Lloyd do it right now, Lloyd would do better than that.
“That fellow still has a long way to go.”
“It is my first time seeing someone with so little combat aptitude that it is invisible. Honestly, I wonder whether it is possible.”
There was no such thing as impossible.
To help Aike, who had no aptitude for magic at all, develop the strength to protect himself, the only way was to teach him to use a weapon.
“Only a leader who can raise even someone without talent to fulfill his own share can be called an excellent leader.”
“I-I will keep that in mind!”
Saya immediately picked up a wooden training sword and headed toward Aike.
‘The hideout is fine at this point. For the time being, I can leave a little earlier and return a little later. Let us invest time in Lloyd. Before that….’
Hess closely examined the large map attached to the hideout wall.
The map was so large that it was difficult to carry, and it contained a great deal of detailed information.
‘…Here. This is where Lloyd’s next Fortuitous Opportunity lies.’
I have a rough grasp of its location. I should conduct a preliminary survey sometime soon.
The target locations of newly arrived requests were marked on it as well, along with various pieces of information about them.
But there was nothing worth worrying about right away.
“Then, Saya, I will leave the rest to you.”
“Leave it to me. I will become an excellent leader…!”
…I feel like something has changed about her.
***
The village was already bustling with people at work when I arrived early in the morning.
‘Margaret and Ben must be hard at work too.’
I did not like Margaret at all, but I knew she worked very hard at her job.
I could understand why she had driven Lloyd away when he first came to the inn. She had merely tried to avoid doing anything the customers would dislike as much as possible.
‘Well, even so, treating my precious Lloyd that way is a grave sin. I cannot overlook it.’
Lost in those thoughts, I soon saw the inn come into view.
As expected, Ben was awake. But,
‘…Oh?’
“Lloyd stood beside Ben. The two of them were doing squats side by side.”
“Ha ha, it seems Sir Lloyd’s stamina has improved noticeably in such a short time.”
That was certainly true.
He still looked as though he would collapse if poked, but his complexion was much better than before, and he seemed capable of at least running now.
It seems leveling up does have an effect.
“So I was wondering what was going on, and Sir Lloyd told me he had done something called Squat-off!”
Lloyd added a word as though it were nothing special.
“I shared the training method. Uncle Ben makes sure I eat well too. You don't mind, right?”
…There was no problem with that.
“I did not know Ben was interested in this sort of thing.”
Ben had the ordinary build of a middle-aged man with a belly. I had not known he cared about his body.
“Seeing Sir Lloyd improve so noticeably, I could not just sit still!”
Well, that was because Lloyd was born with every kind of talent, despite how he looked on the outside, and Lucy was helping him too.
…Still, if he wanted to exercise, I should encourage him.
“If you work hard, you will certainly see results.”
“I hope so! The posture for this training method is a little strange, though, ha ha!”
But they were not given much time.
“Ben! Where did that man go, Ben?!”
The moment Margaret’s voice rang out, Ben vanished into the inn as though he had been sucked inside.
‘…If he can run like that with that body, Ben does not lack talent either.’
Lucy was asleep in the shade with all four paws pressed to the ground.
“Lloyd, did Lucy sleep here all night?”
“Of course not. I took him to my room at night. I brought him back out this morning.”
Without changing his squat position, Lloyd turned only his head toward Lucy and continued.
“But he hardly slept at night. It must be because he is a cat?”
It is because he is a demon.
“That is right. Cats are nocturnal.”
“I suppose that is why? I wondered whether the bed was uncomfortable.”
The two of them sleep in the same bed? Something about that makes me uneasy. What if that foul-tempered demon talks in his sleep, flails around, and scratches Lloyd for no reason?
“I did not think of that. When I come tomorrow, I will bring a basket for Lucy to sleep in.”
[Lloyd]
[Level 2: 9/200]
It feels as though his growth has slowed a little, but the effect is continuing nonetheless.
It is time to start combining aerobic exercise.
“Lloyd, come walk with me for a while.”
“Hm? What about training?”
“This is training too. We will walk a little quickly. Lucy, it is time to get up.”
At Henrik’s call, Lucy’s eyes flew open.
Normally, waking a vicious demon from sleep was no easy task.
If someone happened to wake him, they might have to prepare themselves for death. More often than not, though, he would not wake easily at all.
That was why he was surprised at how easily he had awakened himself this time.
But Henrik did not think much of it.
‘Sleeping with all four paws on the ground means a cat is sleeping lightly.’
Cats spend most of their sleeping time in light sleep to begin with. Because their ears remain alert, they are not difficult to wake.
‘He has the traits of a cat and a demon in equal measure.’
Lloyd began walking through the village with Henrik.
To avoid interfering with Lloyd’s breathing, Henrik deliberately said nothing and simply continued walking briskly.
Then, when he turned around once to make sure Lloyd was following well, Henrik flinched.
“What is with that expression? Are you already tired?”
“…It is hard, but not to the point that I cannot continue.”
“Your face says you cannot continue. Shall we rest and get some help from Lucy?”
Lucy, who had been running on all fours beside Lloyd, immediately looked utterly displeased.
“…It is not because I am tired.”
Sensing that something was odd, Henrik looked around.
‘Ah.’
His eyes fell upon a beggar. Dressed in filthy clothes, the man was staring fixedly at Lloyd.
“Do you know him?”
“…There is not a beggar in this area whom I do not know.”
Henrik and Lloyd quickly passed the beggar as they walked briskly.
But after they walked a little farther, another beggar appeared, and the same situation repeated itself over and over.
Every one of the beggars glared at Lloyd.
“Why are there so many beggars?”
“They each guard an assigned spot. They beg and gather information too.”
“Did you do that as well?”
“…Sometimes. But usually, I did odd jobs inside the Beggars’ Den.”
Lloyd must have been at the very bottom even among the beggars.
He had said that a lot had happened to him at the Beggars’ Den. He had not told me the details, but even if I had asked, his answer would likely have been the same.
He was not the sort of person to tell me about things that wounded his pride.
“You do not need to pay attention to those fellows. They have nothing to do with you now.”
“…They will not see it that way. They are the sort who are deeply jealous and envious.”
Only after hearing those words did I understand why they were staring so intently at Lloyd.
They were not looking at him merely because they knew him. The sight of Lloyd, well fed and well dressed, was what rankled them.
“…You little wimp.”
One of them muttered under his breath. And Lloyd inevitably took the bait.
“Lloyd, what are you doing?!”
“……”
He stopped walking briskly and began approaching the beggar who had called him by that dear old nickname.
‘Damn it, your muscles have not even properly developed yet, but your boiling point is so low…!’
Henrik immediately went after Lloyd.
Lucy followed after them with the happiest expression he had worn since becoming a cat.
“Well, look who it is. Is that really the little wimp? Your clothes look nice.”
“…You stink.”
“Huh?”
“I said you stink.”
It was only natural. But the beggar immediately bristled.
“Should I make you stink again? Huh? You will stink in no time if you roll around on the ground and get beaten a few times. You know that, do you not? You are used to that sort of thing.”
The beggars who had been scattered around the area began to gather one by one.
‘He is already causing trouble. That temper of his, honestly….’
Still, the beggars did not immediately beat Lloyd to the ground.
They did not know who the human named Henrik, standing behind Lloyd, was. But they could not fail to sense the presence he radiated.
“Are you getting cocky because you have someone backing you? You little wimp.”
Yet no matter how firmly Henrik stood behind him, the mockery aimed at Lloyd did not stop.
Watching this situation, Henrik keenly realized just how weak Lloyd had been.
“Do you really think I am a wimp?”
“Pfft, what are you talking about, you bastard? Did you eat so much meat that it filled your head too?”
The beggar took a step toward Lloyd. Henrik immediately intervened.
“Step back.”
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, the beggar looked back and forth between Henrik and Lloyd.
“Henrik, stay out of this. I can handle it.”
“You are at it again. Did you not say the same thing when you got into a fight with Margaret before?”
“I said it then too. I could have handled it.”
Lloyd took another step toward the beggar.
“Come at me.”
“Pfft!”
The beggars burst out laughing all at once.
While they could not stop laughing, Henrik scratched his head without realizing it.
But Lloyd did not react at all.
“Do you not intend to come at me?”
“Hah…Fine. I will come at you.”
The beggar took another step toward Lloyd. There was no longer room for either of them to take another step between them.
“How shall I do this to you? I will do it however you want. Do you want to use tools? Or bare fists? Any method that uses the body is fine.”
Behind them, snickering continued. Whenever one man stopped, another picked it up, and the laughter continued without end.
“So if it is a physical contest, you will fight in any manner I choose. Is that right?”
“That is right. Anything is fine as long as it does not involve using your head. Pfft.”
“It seems your head is not very good.”
“Heh…Your bullshit that only comes out of your mouth will end soon.”
The beggar’s body was just as gaunt, but he still looked to be in better condition than Lloyd.
“You little wimp, I guess you forgot everything just because some time has passed. I will rejuvenate your memory.”
“Good, then….”
Lloyd took several steps back. The beggar soon clenched both fists tightly.
They looked like cotton-padded clubs to Henrik, but even those fists might as well have been a mace to Lloyd.
Looking at those fists, Lloyd opened his mouth.
“…The method of our contest is.”
Henrik crossed his arms, signaling that he would no longer intervene.
‘All right, Lloyd. Let us see what you can do. This time, I will watch.’
Lucy also bared his fangs, unable to hide his anticipation.
Lloyd finally made up his mind.
“…Squat-off.”
At Lloyd’s words, the beggars fell silent for a moment.
““Squat…off? What is that?”