The moment I acquired the magic map, a new Guidance popped up:

[Try taking on a quest — 0/1].

I wasn't sure if this popped up because it was my first quest, or if every quest came with one, but either way, it was clearly telling me to accept the request on the magic map.

If I clear it, I'll receive both the quest reward and the Guidance completion reward, which is quite a good deal... Although, I still don't know what the quest reward actually is.

That being said, the quest explicitly says to be prepared for combat, so it seems quite dangerous. The quest title is [The Crouching Beast and the Sky-Blue Fig]. I can't rule out the possibility of fighting some sort of monster or magical beast.

For now, I'd like to train a bit more and only take on the quest once I genuinely feel stronger—at least strong enough to land one clean hit on Shello-san.

Speaking of training, Elepipi is joining us starting today.

Since she does have her work as a stage actress, she couldn't come every day. But since we'd gone to the trouble of forming a knight order—even if it was mostly in name only—I wanted her to participate as much as possible.

Besides, if we were going to operate as a knight order, we needed a minimum level of strength. Elepipi was only seventeen; with the [Knight] vocation she should still have plenty of room to grow.

"Alright, what should Elepipi use as her weapon?"

We were at the usual grassy field near the Roth estate.

We needed to decide on her main weapon, but we didn't have that many options. I had a few swords and knives (mostly due to my own hobbies) but I'm completely lacking in blunt weapons.

Well, since she's a Knight, a sword, a spear, maybe a mace or flail, or a bow would work... actually, [Knights] have a surprisingly wide range.

Best to let Rebecca-san, our resident veteran Knight, decide.

"Let's see. We could have her try everything, but... Elepipi doesn't have a large build, so how about the orthodox sword and shield? We don't have a shield user right now."

"A shield, huh."

Yeah, one-handed sword + shield is the classic RPG starter set—super stable, ultra reliable. For some reason our group had turned into a bunch of glass cannons, so a proper defender would balance things out nicely.

Furthermore, unlike Marina who is my attendant, or Shello-san and Rebecca-san, who are seasoned veterans, Elepipi is an outsider—a girl from another family I've hired. Considering that, I absolutely cannot let her get injured, much less killed, so equipment leaning towards defense is better.

Yep, this felt like the only real option.

"Sounds good. Let's go with that. Only problem is we don't have a shield."

Nobody here used one, and the one I bought before was already sold off at auction.

Well, I'll just buy one later. For today, it's fine to focus on basic one-handed sword training, right?

"Jirou. I figured this might happen, so I made some. Here."

Shello-san casually tossed me a wooden shield.

"!?"

W-When did he...!?

"It's not just the shield. I went ahead and made a full set of training weapons. Since way back, it's standard practice to make your own training gear, you see! Wahaha!"

I-I'm grateful...! So grateful...!

It seems Shello-san, with unexpected skill, made various wooden weapons for training: Swords, greatswords, spears, axes, shields, daggers. They were light, but perfect for practical training without worrying about serious injury.

I entrusted Elepipi's training menu to Rebecca-san, as always. It probably won't be as severe as Marina's, but it's bound to be pretty tough.

Alright—time to begin another lively training session!

* * *

~ Two Hours Later ~

"Haa... haa... haa... haa...!"

Elepipi was lying on her back, gasping for breath. She had tossed aside her wooden training weapon and was sweating profusely, her chest heaving as she desperately sought oxygen.

"Hmm, maybe I went a little too hard for her first day?"

"This is our usual pace. I think it's fine."

"Is that so? She might quit, saying 'it's too much~', you know."

"If she gives up from this, being in a knight order would be nothing but a pipe dream. Most people start knight training much younger. If she wants to catch up, it has to be at least this tough. It's hard until you get used to it, but she'll have to push through."

Elepipi is seventeen. It's already been seven years since she received her vocation.

I don't know if there's a "golden age" for combat training, but she'll have a hard time competing with someone who started training diligently at age 10.

Starting the Knight Order is (mostly) a hobby of mine, but that doesn't mean it could stay purely decorative. A Knight Order composed entirely of women is bound to stand out. And if you stand out, you'll attract trouble, as the previous bandit incident proved. For times like those, I want them to have a certain level of strength.

"Haa... haa... haa... haa..."

"How is it? Have you calmed down?"

Elepipi had just undergone that practical defense training with Rebecca-san (the same one Shello-san put me through) for two solid hours on her very first day.

The first day is the toughest part, so this state of her is understandable. If anything, I want to tell her she did incredibly well.

"...Haah... Haah... Young Master... Is it always like this?"

"No, it's actually been upgraded lately. The worst version is when we do that drill one-versus-everyone."

Training isn't just one-on-one. Shello-san and Rebecca-san's curriculum goes way beyond that.

As befitting former mercenaries, they cover how to fight multiple opponents, dealing with projectiles, how to escape effectively, using small tricks with items found on site, fighting magical beasts (apparently, they often took jobs to defeat powerful ones), teamwork, battlefield food knowledge, camping skills, and more.

"......"

"Do you want to quit?"

Elepipi hadn't done this kind of training before. And that drill is especially tough because it instinctively makes you feel the fear of death. A person not suited for it would never manage—but this is where having a [Vocation] makes a difference.

Waiting for her answer, I was once again reminded of that fact.

"...No. It's fun... It's exhausting, but everyone comes at me honestly and directly, and it's really, really fun. But... I'm just a little worried whether I can keep up."

She says something like that with a gentle smile.

Seriously, all these Knight-Vocation girls are all such good kids...

"Well, it's only the first day. That training sucks at first, but you'll start feeling good eventually. Your brain releases all kinds of crazy stuff."

"...Maybe."

"Hahaha. Well, that's the gist of it. Once again, it's great to have you, Elepipi."

"...Un. I'm still inexperienced, but thank you for having me."

Meanwhile, Diana and Marina were whispering nearby:

"I feel like there's a nice atmosphere over there, nodesu."

"Master-done is always kind to the newcomers, de arimasu. It's the carrot and stick, de arimasu."

"It's mostly carrot, though."

"Does Princess prefer the stick side, de arimasu?"

"That's, well... What are you even saying!?"

"Wahyah~"

...I'm sure they weren't talking about us... right?

By the way, Marina, Diana, and I were all being taught how to fight with a self-defense one-handed sword by Shello-san.

The Demon Sword I carry is a longsword with a blade about a meter long. It requires a two-handed grip (though I can manage it one-handed due to its weight). While I always wear it at my waist, it is a pain to carry around.

Marina, on the other hand, carries an absurdly long halberd. She carries it everywhere because she has no other weapon, but it's extremely impractical outside a battlefield.

Diana mostly uses a bow in training, but we figured she might as well learn the sword, too.

Since we don't own any one-handed swords (I have one that's severely rusted), I want to buy one for everyone. And if possible, I want them to be made of Mithril or better. Expensive, but worth it. Steel is too heavy to carry around all the time.

For the record, weight equals power, so Mithril isn't as strong as one might associate with the word. It's excellent for light and strong armor, but for weapons, steel, with its weight and toughness, is apparently superior.

* * *

Morning training ended, and it was lunchtime.

On training days, we often eat lunch together before heading to the shop.

Aurica prepares our food in the mansion, while Marina picks it up—bringing Aurica with her.

"Then, I shall return to the mansion and bring Aurica and lunch, de arimasu!"

"Wait, hold on, stop for a second, Marina."

"I am waiting, de arimasu! Waiting is my specialty, de arimasu."

—This is sudden, but let's rewind a bit.

The fraudulent dealer's sketchy lace that I had listed on the net auction had been successfully sold yesterday...

To my shock, it went for 126,000 yen. This left me stunned, but according to the bidders' comments, it was a "splendid collection of genuine antiques". Well, the higher the price, the better. It's hard to earn Yen, even if I can easily earn money in this other world.

However, the downside is...

The lace I'd bought from the brothel district had suddenly become much riskier to list. Even if that lace might fetch an even higher price, there's no need to take unnecessary risks. The secret technique, "It was discovered while cleaning out my grandmother's belongings" is a one-time trick per item type, after all.

I asked Marina, who was just about to mount her horse for the lunch trip, to run another errand.

"While you're at it, bring back the lace I bought before and the map from yesterday too."

The lace was originally bought because I wanted handkerchiefs, but there's still various stuff left like collars, sleeve trims, ribbons, etc. I'm not selling it in Japan, but selling here feels meh, so I want everyone to brainstorm uses for it.

As for the magic map: I might as well show it to Rebecca-san—maybe she'd recognize the location.

"If you don't know where they are, Aurica probably knows."

"Roger, dodger, de arimasu!"

"...Where do you even pick up phrases like that?"

Marina swiftly rode off toward the mansion. Elepipi's eyes shone as she watched her.

"...Senpai is so cool..."

"You'll need to practice horseback riding, too, Elepipi. You'll be able to ride in no time."

She's got the Knight vocation, after all.

Meanwhile, I'm still terrified every time I get on a horse!

* * *

Marina returned, fully loaded with lace, the map, food, and Aurica.

Horses really do have impressive carrying capacity, huh. Horsepower is no joke.

After we all enjoyed a fun lunchtime (Elepipi was strangely delighted that lunch was provided), we discussed possible uses for the lace.

Here are the results—

* Decorate the horses with it, it'll be cute, de arimasu! (Marina)

* Material for making costumes (cosplay) here. (Me)

* Perfect for stage costumes—can I have some? (Elepipi)

* How about using it for the knight order's insignia? (Rebecca-san)

* I'd love some to make room decorations. (Aurica)

* Turn it into a weighted net to throw at enemies. (Shello-san)

* It would definitely look adorable on horses, nodesu. (Diana)

First, Shielo-san's idea is rejected. Why use it for combat...? However, the idea of a net itself being useful for incapacitating an opponent was good, so I decided to pick up something appropriate at a hardware store later.

I'll give a little to Elepipi and Aurica. There's a ton anyway—enough to fill a garbage bag, to use a crude expression—so it wasn't a problem.

My idea is set aside for now since I don't have any concrete costume plans yet.

For some reason Marina and Diana are both dead-set on decorating the horses. Did they plan this beforehand? Something about the horses looking too plain...?

"Alright, let's go with Rebecca-san's suggestion. A knight order all wearing matching lace accessories is easy to recognize and gives off a refined, feminine vibe."

The basic policy was settled: everyone uses their share of lace freely to make their own, or has someone make it for them. I'll just cheat and just commission Bill the Craftsman to do mine.

"Also Rebecca-san, do you remember that magic map Efta-san showed us a while ago? I got my hands on one just like it."

"Eh? That thing was pretty expensive, wasn't it?"

"Well, yes, but I got it as a bargain. Anyway, the map location seems to be nearby—"

Saying that, I took the map from Marina.

The moment I received it, a ridiculous beep-beep-beep-beep-beeep alarm blared across the meadow.

It was the monster alarm—one I'd heard once before, long ago... A magic tool that warns when monsters spawn nearby.

It's valuable, but Roth household, being contracted to hunt monsters, has one on loan.

But Rebecca-san, as carefree as ever, just said, "Ara? A perfect post-meal exercise~"

Well, she did say the strong ones don't appear in this area, and the skeleton we fought last time was weak

"Master-dono! Captain-dono! Please let Marina handle this today, de arimasu!"

"Huh? I don't mind, but... oh yeah, you said you got a Guidance, right?"

"Yes, de arimasu! M-Marina has never achieved a single Guidance since she was born, de arimasu!"

"I'm fine with that too. But since we don't know what's out there, make sure you prepare properly."

"Roger, dodger, de arimasu!"

"...Seriously, where did you learn those phrases...?"

Everything was nice and cheerful... except Diana, who had gone pale and was looking around frantically.

"Diana? What's wrong? Something bothering you?"

"N-No one must go outside, nodesu! It... it spawned right there... right nearby!"

"Huh? What do you—"

Wait... Come to think of it, the first time a monster spawned, Diana was the only one who sensed it.

But monsters are supposed to spawn in the forest, don't they...?

"No, it appeared suddenly, with no warning, nodesu! And it's powerful... way beyond those skeletons!"

Diana rarely got this worked up. Something seemed seriously wrong...

Even so, we couldn't just hide inside. Forget Marina's Guidance, this was Shello-san's job to deal with. If we left it alone and it went toward the town, we'd have a huge problem.

"A strong monster, de arimasu? Then Marina will go, de arimasu. If the situation goes bad, Master-dono, Princess, and Elepipi escape, de arimasu... I should at least be able to buy some time."

Marina looked ready to charge out in a panic.

"Whoa, hold on! Calm down!"

"Jirou's right, you should calm down~"

"Waiting is my specialty, de arimasu... but..."

Marina's the best-equipped among us—she's in proper armor and her halberd is perfect for monster-slaying.

So letting her fight isn't a bad idea, but if we're fighting anyway, doing it together is safer.

Still, this is clearly an abnormal situation. Better leave it to the pros.

"We're counting on you two!"

"All right, we'll go take a look. The rest of you wait here."

"Yeah. Skeletons are one thing, but a high-rank monster would still be tough for you lot."

Shello-san and Rebecca-san headed outside with relaxed strides. That's veteran composure for you.

—But they were back almost immediately.

"...There's a pretty big magical beast sleeping behind the trees in the back."

Only then did I notice the magic map in my hand was glowing bright red.