Dream Life Vol II Chapter 65.1: “Rathmore Village Martial Arts Competition?: Part 1”

~Beatrice’s Perspective~

　July 10th.

　Yesterday, I, Beatrice Laval, set foot in Rathmore Village, Zack’s hometown.

　I had heard a bit about his grandfather, Govan Lockhart, and since becoming his guardian, I had become acquainted with the town’s veteran adventurers and the Aurella Road – the main road connecting the western commercial city of Aurella and the adventurers’ town of Pericritor in the east.–I had heard about Govan Lockhart from the mercenaries who came and went on the Aurella Road, and had some information about him.

　Govan Lockhart became famous more than twenty years ago, but a surprisingly large number of them knew of him. He was a master of swordsmanship, and the story of how he went toe-to-toe with Lux’s Beastfolk Slave Force and saved the life of the current governor of Caelum’s North, the current Frontier Count, is so well known that it is still told today.

　When I first heard about Lux’s Beastfolk Slave Force, it raised my eyebrows. There were many stories about how they were like ghosts, appearing and disappearing, how he single-handedly wiped out a whole platoon, and how he assassinated a nobleman in the heavily guarded imperial capital of Caelum.

　However, when we gathered rumors in Doctus, it seemed that he was such a fearsome opponent that the drunken mercenaries turned serious faces.

　Govan Lockhart was the only person, ever, to have won a victory against such a fearsome group of assassins with the same number of men. I heard that he is called “The Lionheart” because of his valiant fight at that time.

　I had been quite nervous for several days about the fact that I was going to meet this “Lionheart.

　Because, you know.

　I am just an ordinary adventurer. Even though I am a third-rank adventurer, I am nothing more than a rough beastfolk who can do nothing more than wield a spear with a woman’s hands.

　The village where I grew up is on the frontier of the Caelum Empire. But there were no nobles who came to the village, and only once a year the tax collector came to visit.

　I have been living in Doctus since I left the village more than ten years ago, but even in that town, I have no contact with the nobility. And the only famous person who is called a hero is the “Red Arm of Lux” from the Kingdom of Lux, which forms the United Kingdom with Saltus. I don’t remember if it was “Red Arm” or “Red Shoulder” or something like that, but I’ve only seen a mercenary with a nickname like that. Of course, I had never even spoken to the mercenary. So, I had no idea how to talk to him.

　Even so, I thought I was hiding it from myself. But since Lydiane had noticed, it seemed that I had been sighing a lot, unknowingly.

　And when Zack’s father, the lord, approached me when we first arrived in the village, I didn’t know what to do. Zack told me that he didn’t like formalities in the house, but I wouldn’t normally expect him to talk to me so openly.

　So, I was pretty out of it, but still, the moment I saw Govan Lockhart, I got the shivers.

　“This man is strong,” I intuited.

　I can’t say what it was about him, but even I could tell that he was master class. His followers were also very skilled, but Govan Lockhart made such a strong impression on me that I can hardly remember any of them.

　Changing the subject, this village is paradise, as Zack says.

　There were no walls around the village, even though it was surrounded by deep forest. And yet, children were running around without worry.

　As is the case in my hometown, a pioneer village is usually a very dangerous place. Without fences, dangerous monsters can wander into the village. In fact, there was a time when a big four-armed bear entered the village where I lived, and the adults were in a panic. Well, our village is a village of the Royal Tiger Tribe, so we can defeat a few monsters.

　In contrast, this village is peaceful.

　It is clean, and the food and drink are good. When I look at the people in the village, they all look happy.

　The best thing of all is that there is a public bathhouse. Well, I was a little puzzled when the women in the village talked to me, but I guess that is another proof of the peace in this village.

　They are not afraid of the female warrior brought by the son of the lord, and they talk to her normally.

　I was quite nervous last night, but after a few drinks, I was able to talk with my previous lord and current lord – I decided to call him that as well, following everyone else’s example – and I didn’t feel nervous anymore. I was able to get along with the squires, whom Zack had been worried about the most, thanks to the word of the lord. At least that’s what I think.

　As the dawn came, I headed out for morning training as usual, but I was surprised again.

　It was summer, the time of year when the days are the longest, and it was still dimly light when I heard the first sign of movement.

　Of course, Zack always woke up before dawn to do his morning training, but it was a surprise to find that it was being done throughout the entire mansion.

　The previous lord and current lords, as well as the squires who had their homes nearby, gather in the clearing beside the mansion at sunrise. The only one who can fight who is not here is probably Lydiane.

　Without so much as a morning greeting, they immediately begin to swing.

　After the first 30 minutes of training, they would have mock battles or confirm the stances, each training according to his or her own needs.

　Among them, the one who surprised me the most was the lord, Lord Mathias.

　He was engaged in a rather intense mock battle against a veteran squire, working his body until it was exhausted.

　Although he is a nobleman, he is of knightly rank, so one might expect him to train in martial arts, but ordinary knights do not train this intensely.

　When I asked him about it later, he told me that he focuses on training in the mornings and evenings because he does a lot of paperwork and desk work and cannot participate in the neighborhood watch training during the day.

　In addition to that, he said that he has been taking it very seriously for the past year or so because he doesn’t want his eldest son, who is not here, and his second son, Zack, to overtake him in swordsmanship.

　About 30 minutes after finishing breakfast, we saw about 10 members of the village vigilante group coming up the hill to the training area.

　Zack told me that the neighborhood watch is required to train twice a month and that they are to be trained by their previous lord and current lord’s Head Squire Vassell – Walt Vassell – and others.

　The Village Patrol members perform preparatory exercises. The preparatory exercise is a “stretching” exercise that Zack has devised, which I also learned from him, and after about 30 minutes of this and some swinging, it’s time for the real training.