Chapter 8

My life as Clara Ansbach’s attendant had begun.

Since our departure for the Royal Capital was a week away, I had to learn the basics of the job before then. I ended up following the butler, Egon-san, around to learn the ropes.

The first thing I was made to learn was how to assist with donning armor. When Clara-sama is on official military duty, she wears a suit of plate armor that covers her entire body. The armor, which has been treated with anti-magic properties, weighs over 20 kilograms, so just putting it on her is a major chore.

However, a knight cannot fulfill their duties without their armor. In this world, the primary knightly tactic involves charging into enemy lines on horseback and blasting away with offensive magic. Because of that, I was taught that plate armor—essential for protecting oneself from arrows and spells flying in from the flanks—is a must-have.

Even so, Clara-sama moved with grace while equipped in that plate armor. She was slightly shorter than me—and I’m 178 centimeters—but she seemed to have a muscular build. Since she rarely showed any skin, I didn’t actually know what she looked like under there, though.

Plate armor consists of numerous parts and is incredibly cluttered. At first, it took me over forty minutes to get her dressed, but I grew accustomed to it through practice. Eventually, I was able to get her fully geared up in fifteen minutes.

I owed this to Clara-sama, who accompanied me through the practice without a single word of complaint. She would caution me if I made a mistake, but she stayed patient until I was capable. She was apparently only twenty years old, yet I was impressed by her dignified attitude. I wish my department manager back home, who gets angry at the drop of a hat, would take a page out of her book.

After the armor came the horse care. Clara-sama’s beloved steed was a black horse named Blitz. He was a military horse—highly intelligent and incredibly composed. He got used to the sound of the motorcycle I brought almost immediately. Clara-sama and Egon-san were actually much more freaked out by it than he was.

During the journey, it would be my job to feed Blitz, saddle him, and wash him. Blitz was smart and showed me a lot of affection as I cared for him, so I grew very fond of him.

The only thing I still wasn’t used to was fitting the horseshoes to his hooves. Apparently, they are used to prevent the hooves from cracking. But when a horse as big as Blitz starts snorting and shaking his head, it’s pretty terrifying. Please, just stay still.

Today, my “Courage x6” skill was once again putting in a lot of quiet, hard work.

Most of the tasks involved heavy manual labor and were quite difficult, but I found myself feeling refreshed and vibrant. Maybe this kind of lifestyle actually suited my nature. The pay was low, but since I gained a new skill every six days, I had no complaints for now.

If there was one issue, it was that the food was meager. I honestly wondered how the villagers managed to work so hard on such a low calorie intake. It was basically just thin vegetable soup and bread as hard as a rock, or sometimes barley porridge. It seemed like eating meat was a truly rare occasion.

Occasionally, I would pull food out of my Spatial Storage and eat in secret. I was really glad I had packed a variety of things. I vowed to myself that the next time I was sent back, I would cram even more food into storage.

I was leading a reasonably fulfilling daily life, but Ebba-berg Village lacked entertainment. Even when I was given a break, there wasn’t much to do. My biggest distraction was taking walks. Whenever I walked through the village at dusk, everyone I passed would greet me.

To tell the truth, I was currently something of a minor hero in the village. I had become popular as one of the contributors to the recent Goblin repelling battle. Currently, the only magic I could use was “Paralysis (Beginner),” but since people capable of using magic were rare to begin with, I was held in high regard for that alone.

“Kota-saaan!”

While walking down the street, I ran into Ria, who had returned from the Labyrinth of Lagas. At a quick glance, she didn’t seem to have any notable injuries. Since Earth’s medicine works incredibly well in this world, I had given Ria some steroid ointment. I wondered if it was proving useful.

“On your way home?”

“Yes. I managed to make it back safely today as well.”

I walked along while chatting with Ria.

“Thanks to the medicine you gave me, Kota-san, hunting has been much easier than before.”

“Do you still have some left? Should I give you a spare?”

“It’s okay. I still have plenty left. Oh…”

Ria looked up at the treetops as if she’d noticed something. Following her gaze, I saw a single bird perched on a branch.

“It’s a mountain dove. They’re delicious, but I used up all my arrows in today’s scouting.”

Ria looked frustrated. If possible, I wanted to treat Ria and the others to some grilled bird. Zotto and Noel would be thrilled.

Wait! Maybe I can do something with my Paralysis magic.

I gathered mana in my palm and activated a Paralysis Ball. The light orb, about the size of a pachinko ball, hit the dove perfectly, and it tumbled from the branch. Ria dashed over immediately and wrung its neck.

Whoa… I still can’t bring myself to wring a neck without hesitation like that. If I’m going to survive in this world, I’ll have to get used to things like this.

“We did it, Kota-san! Here.”

Ria flashed a smile and handed the dove to me.

“You and the others should eat it, Ria. You’re the one who spotted it first.”

“But you’re the one who caught it, Kota-san.”

Ria is so earnest.

“It’s fine, just let Zotto and Noel have it. You’re still in your growing phase too, Ria.”

“I’m sorry. Thank you very much.”

It turns out Paralysis Balls can be used for hunting too. The effective range seems to be limited to about 20 meters, but it’s been proven that with a bit of luck, I can secure some game. Even if I run out of food in the worst-case scenario, I might be able to scrape by with this.

Oh! I found another bird. This one is even bigger than the dove and looks like it’ll have more meat on it. I channeled mana into my right hand.

“Kota-san, don’t!”

Ria’s warning came a fraction too late. The Paralysis Ball I fired hit the bird on the tree again. But unlike before, the paralyzed bird didn’t fall.

Huh? The bird twitched, glared at me, and let out a sharp “Gyaaa!” before flying straight toward me!

Clang! Ria’s mountain knife parried the bird’s beak, making a high-pitched metallic sound. The damn bird actually attacked! Perhaps because its initial strike was deflected, it flew off just like that.

“Whew… Kota-san, that was an Adaro Bird, a type of monster. They rarely attack unless provoked, but if you harm them, they will retaliate.”

“Sorry!”

So that was a monster. I’ll have to be careful not to attack blindly from now on. It was lucky that there was only one of them, but if a whole flock counterattacked, I’d be helpless. I guess I need to start learning the different species of creatures here.

Regardless, the Paralysis Ball didn’t work on the Adaro Bird. It might be because I fired it with low output, but I should be prepared for the fact that some monsters might be immune.

It’s been four days since I arrived on this side. Today is a bit of an outing day. I’m scheduled to go hunting with Clara-sama starting this morning. Since hunting doubles as training for a knight, Clara-sama is in full gear.

I’m accompanying her to carry the luggage, but I have to go on foot. If I took the bike, the prey would just get scared away. The bag I was instructed to carry weighed about 10 kilograms. Looking inside, I found a hand axe, food, water in a leather skin, blankets, and hemp rope. Besides that, I was handed a crude spear that could also serve as a walking stick.

“Kota, are you ready?”

Clara-sama seemed to be in a very good mood. An uncharacteristically excited aura, which she usually doesn’t show, radiated from her. She must really love hunting.

Right after finishing breakfast, we set off for the forest east of Ebba-berg. Today’s group consisted of Clara-sama, myself, Blitz the horse, and a hound named Hustler.

Hustler was a breed I’d never seen before, and he was massive. Compared to dogs I know, he was about the size of a Great Dane. Plus, he had a terrifying face. He looked like nothing but a monster. He’s probably a species that doesn’t exist on Earth. I’m told he’s well-trained as a hunting dog and very capable.

“Nice to meet you, Hustler.”

Hustler gave me a sidelong glance as I greeted him and let out a dismissive snort.

Ah, this guy just looked down on me! Damn it, don’t underestimate me. I’ll catch some big game and show you.

“Kota, this forest is relatively safe, but there are Goblin nests if you go deeper. Never let your guard down.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Please don’t underestimate how much of a coward I am. A strange forest I’ve never entered before. Plus, there are monsters. There’s no way I’d let my guard down. I’ll be right by your side, so make sure you all protect me!

One hour later. I was standing all alone deep in the forest.

Clara-sama, Blitz, and Hustler had gone off to hunt. And I was left behind in solitude to watch the luggage.

…As if I could let my guard down!!

For now, I guess I’ll pick up some branches for firewood… I’ll gather the fallen dry branches scattered around and wait for Clara-sama’s return while boiling some water.