Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Thanks to Polia reserving two rooms in advance, I was able to rest as soon as we arrived.
‘The room isn’t bad.’
The moment I opened the door, warm air flowed out.
For a single room, it was quite spacious.
Thick planks were laid across the floor, and when I stepped on them, a subtle warmth rose up. The fact that it wasn’t cold alone earned it a passing mark.
Against one wall was a simple bed, neatly made with well-dried fur and cloth bedding.
There was no damp smell, no mold. Instead, a faint scent lingered, like a blend of wood and herbs.
I walked over to the window and looked outside.
‘It’s refreshingly open.’
The window wasn’t large, but beyond the glass, the snow-covered plain spread out in full view. The wind was barely audible, which meant the walls and gaps had been carefully sealed.
I threw myself onto the bed, and softness embraced me.
‘……It’s definitely not bad.’
This was enough to be satisfying.
Meanwhile, Lapin wasn’t in this room.
The other room Polia had reserved was a double room, and Lapin said she would be staying there together with Polia.
Polia seemed to have taken an interest in Lapin, and strangely enough, Lapin also didn’t seem to mind her.
The reason was a bit peculiar, though.
“Polia unni smells like a wolf. That’s why I like her.”
“Hey, Lapin. If you say things like that to people, they might think you’re being rude.”
“Ahaha, it’s fine. I’m actually glad you feel that way?”
Polia laughed it off.
Tonight, the full moon had risen.
The setting where Lapin grew cat ears under a full moon was something that existed in the game too, almost like an Easter egg.
And sure enough, this time as well, cat ears popped out on top of Lapin’s head.
Polia blinked when she saw it.
“Your little sister has cute cat ears growing on her head?”
“That’s fine. She has a unique constitution.”
“What kind of constitution is that?!”
While teasing, Polia tilted her head slightly as if lost in thought, then said,
“……They’re cute, so I guess it’s fine?”
She didn’t seem to mind much.
Anyway, the two of them looked like they’d get along well. Once I confirmed that, I felt relieved and returned to my single room.
‘I heard this place is famous for its open-air baths.’
I’d been told that each room had a private open-air bath that one person could use alone.
As curiosity got the better of me and I looked around the room, I found a small door.
When I opened it, hot steam rose into the air.
‘This must be it.’
A private open-air bath for solo use.
It seemed they changed the water daily, so hygiene was pretty good.
‘This is my first open-air bath in this world.’
Up until now, bathing had meant little more than filling a drum with hot water and soaking in it. There was no way I wouldn’t be excited.
‘Let’s try it.’
I took off my clothes and cautiously dipped in a foot first.
Since it wasn’t as hot as I’d expected, I eased my whole body in.
The temperature was just right, and I could feel the fatigue slowly melting away.
‘……I can’t be the only one enjoying something this good.’
I opened the ‘Animal Farm’.
Amphibians and reptiles had tricky temperature regulation. An onsen would probably be too much for them, so I put Hwayo, Pau, and Boogi on hold for now.
Instead, I summoned Shuck and Ramji first.
Woof!
Kyuu-!
As if they’d been waiting for the open-air bath, they entered the water without hesitation, all of them wearing relaxed expressions.
……Not long after, the inside of the Animal Farm began to shake noisily.
Popong, popong!
Kkuyap!
The rest of the companions, who had been watching Shuck and Ramji soak with envious eyes, started making a huge fuss.
“You want to come in too?”
They hadn’t expressed it clearly in words, but somehow it felt like that was what they were saying.
“If you’re not careful, you’ll get burned, you know?”
Kkuyyaaap!
The spirit beasts that couldn’t get into the bath wailed stubbornly, as if begging to be let in.
“Since you’re spirit beasts…… is it okay?”
As a test, I summoned Boogi first. Instead of putting it straight into the water, I lifted it close to the bath.
“Just from the heat, it’s hot, right?”
Beep.
Boogi looked straight at me.
Its eyes clearly said it wanted to be put into the water as it was.
“……If it gets too hot, say so. I’ll pull you out right away.”
Very slowly, I lowered Boogi into the bath.
Biiik…….
Boogi closed its eyes, wearing a blissful expression.
‘It likes it?’
In the end, I even summoned Hwayo and Pau—who could spit fire—and brought them into the open-air bath.
“You guys, it’s really not hot? You’re sure you’re okay?”
Bbi, bip…….
Kkuyap…….
Popong…….
They answered with nothing but happy expressions.
‘……I see. Since they’re spirit beasts, they really are completely different from normal animals.’
Ordinary reptiles wouldn’t be able to endure this kind of temperature. But for these spirit beasts, it must have been possible.
“If you like it, enjoy it slowly. If it gets tough, tell me right away.”
I stayed submerged in the open-air bath with the spirit beasts for a while, gazing up at the night sky.
After some time passed.
Once all the fatigue had drained from my body, I sent the spirit beasts back into the Animal Farm.
Since my body was thoroughly warmed, I felt like enjoying a bit of the cool night air outside.
I loosely threw on my school uniform and stepped out of the lodging for a nighttime stroll.
Nearby, I spotted a pond, and naturally, my feet carried me in that direction.
‘I’m drowsy.’
As I walked along the edge of the pond, something suddenly came to mind.
That thing I saw on the snowy mountain.
Polia’s sword did not leave my mind.
‘It wasn’t fast. Is speed not that important in that swordsmanship.’
I stopped by the edge of the pond and took out the titanium sword from subspace, gripping it.
‘Should I try it too.’
Without borrowing Shuck’s power, I wanted to swing the sword using purely my own strength.
I recalled once more Polia’s swordsmanship that I had seen on the snowy mountain.
‘The sword wasn’t fast, but it had weight behind it.’
I fixed my gaze straight ahead.
I lowered my head slightly and stepped forward with my left foot. With my right hand, I cut straight down with the sword.
……It wasn’t beautiful.
It didn’t become like Polia’s.
My posture was awkward, and my center of gravity was clumsily thrown off.
‘This isn’t the feeling.’
I repeated it over and over, but the result was the same.
At that moment, I heard the sound of someone’s footsteps behind me.
“Young man, you’re diligent. Practicing swordsmanship at this hour?”
It was Polia, holding a mug of beer.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with a towel taken from subspace and asked.
“Ms. Polia, where did you learn your swordsmanship?”
“Why ask that all of a sudden? I learned it from my father. What, did you get interested in my sword?”
“Yes.”
“You admit it so readily.”
“Is there any reason to hide it? I want to learn that kind of swordsmanship too.”
Polia approached with an amused smile curling her lips.
“What part of my sword did you like?”
“I wouldn’t say I have deep knowledge of swordsmanship, but.”
I tried to describe the image that came to mind as honestly as possible.
“It wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t flashy…… but the moment you showed an opening, it felt like it bit into the nape of the neck.”
I paused briefly to catch my breath, then added.
“It was like a noble wolf, I suppose.”
“Oh, a wolf…….”
Polia took a sip of her beer, thought for a moment, then snorted with a laugh.
“You’ve got a surprisingly good eye, young man.”
She sat down on a nearby chair and continued.
“You’re right. My swordsmanship is called ‘Wolf Swordsmanship.’”
Hearing her words, I reviewed my memories and quickly reached a conclusion.
‘Is Polia lying?’
No matter how I thought about it, there was no such swordsmanship.
In the game, you could choose a swordsmanship school you wanted and learn it.
Imperial Swordsmanship, the Finjer School, Wandering Blade Arts, and so on.
They were systems subdivided into attack-specialized, defense-specialized, speed-specialized types.
In this world, there existed many different swordsmanship schools.
There were also ways to learn hidden swordsmanship by fulfilling specific conditions.
Since a player could choose only a single swordsmanship, there was enjoyment in 고민 over which school to pick.
‘……But Wolf Swordsmanship?’
It was a name I had never heard before.
I had never seen such swordsmanship in the game, and therefore could not have learned it.
After deep consideration, I finally spoke to Polia.
“……I’ve never seen that name in any manual. It’s the first time I’ve heard of such swordsmanship.”
“Of course! That’s because I named it myself.”
Hearing that answer, I glared at her and said.
“If you call it by a name only you use, who’s going to understand it?”
“It can’t be helped. I’m the only one in this world who knows this swordsmanship.”
Polia laughed, swirling her mug of beer.
“Besides, my father couldn’t name it. So I named it for him.”
She placed a hand on her waist.
A longsword fixed diagonally to her belt.
It was secured by hanging the scabbard diagonally from the belt around her waist.
The sword hung naturally beside her thigh, and straps held the scabbard firmly so it wouldn’t sway when she moved.
“Want to hold my sword?”
Sring—.
Polia drew the longsword, held the blade, and extended the hilt toward me.
The moment I grasped the hilt, the weight tipped forward.
In the end, I grabbed the hilt with both hands.
“……Huh?”
For a weapon, it was excessively heavy.
It looked to be around 20 kilograms.
A typical longsword weighed just over 4 kilograms.
‘About five times heavier.’
If a weapon was too heavy, it placed a massive burden on the muscles.
Not only was it impossible to maintain stamina during prolonged combat, even attack speed would become extremely slow. Close combat was decided in fleeting moments, so efficiency was paramount.
Yet she used an extremely heavy weapon.
Of course, the heavier it was, the greater its destructive power would be, but the accompanying penalties were excessive, making it a weapon with severely reduced efficiency.
“Ms. Polia, have you always been swinging a sword like this?”
“It’s heavy, right? That’s why my sword isn’t fast. Want to try swinging it once?”
“I’ll try my best.”
I took my stance and swung the sword.
But the result was obvious.
I tried to swing it, but all I could do was barely manage an awkward swing.
Without Shuck’s ability, I couldn’t handle a longsword of this weight.
“Ahahaha! That brings back memories. I was like that too. My father can lift that kind of sword easily. With his mouth, even.”
“With his mouth? Is he some kind of goblin. Let’s not joke around.”
“It’s not an exaggeration or a joke, it’s true. He’s that monstrously strong.”
“Well, I’ll accept that for now.”
I knew most of the hidden pieces in this world.
If I desperately wanted a certain item, I could obtain it somehow.
However, there were also things I absolutely could not have.
One of them was right in front of me.
……I wanted Polia’s swordsmanship.
I looked at Polia with serious eyes.
“Ms. Polia, do you have any intention of taking a disciple?”
“A disciple? Hm…….”
Polia seemed to ponder for a moment, then scratched her head with an awkward smile and shook it.
“Sorry, young man. I’ll have to refuse. This isn’t my swordsmanship. It’s my father’s alone, so I can’t casually teach it to others.”
“……That’s a shame. Still, it’s amazing to create such beautiful swordsmanship.”
When I replied, Polia smiled with her eyes and nodded.
“Yes, it is amazing. He picked me up when I was abandoned and raised me with love.”
“So he wasn’t your biological father.”
“He was my adoptive father. Still, he’s the most precious family I have in this world.”
After finishing her beer, she stood up.
“I’ll be going. Training is good, but save your stamina for tomorrow. It’d be bad if you collapsed while climbing the mountain.”
“I will.”
I nodded as I answered.
I fell asleep only after practicing with the sword for quite some time.
“Billet, Billet.”
Someone was shaking my shoulder.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Rapin’s face. Each time she shook my shoulders with both arms, her golden hair swayed along with the motion.
“Billet, we have to climb the mountain. Big sister Polia is waiting.”
“……Is it already time.”
Yawning, I lifted my upper body from the bed.
It was time to head to the western mountain for the conquest of the Third King.