Chapter 40 - You too, Gail!?
"Dear.... what do you think you are doing?"
"Hahaha! I did it! I can use magic, too.... Ouch!"
Aina hit Arnold who was so excited that he forgot his surroundings.
"I'm soaking wet."
Misha was wringing out the hem of her maid outfit.
"S-Sorry...."
"Dad, you put too much magic power into it all at once. Even though you can control your Fighting Spirit so well."
"The water wasn't coming out easily, so I mustered everything I could."
Arnold scratched his head. His reaction was just like Dan's.
They're not actually siblings, are they? Aina and Misha might catch a cold at this rate, so let's try something.
"Mom, Misha, please come here for a bit."
Gail called them both over and made them stand side by side. Then, while imagining a hairdryer, he blew warm air towards them with magic.
*fwoosh*
Good, it's working. The temperature is about right. It's not necessary, but it's easier to visualize if I hold both palms out like this.
Gail gradually increased the strength of the wind.
"Oh, it's warm!"
Misha was surprised.
"Gail, it's amazing. My clothes are drying so fast!"
Gail continued blowing warm air.
"Alright, please turn around."
*fwoosh*
"How is it? Are your clothes dry yet?"
Misha fidgeted.
"Umm, my underwear...."
I guess the inside isn't dry yet.
Gail imagined the wind coming from below.
"Kyaa!"
Misha desperately tried to hold down her skirt as the wind tried to flip it up.
"Gail, you shouldn't play tricks on girls."
I-I didn't mean to do that.
"Sorry, I guess the wind was a little too strong."
Gail weaken the wind so Misha's skirt wouldn't flip up.
"Ohhh...!?"
Misha's skirt filled with warm air and started to expand like a balloon.
"I-It's fine now."
"It's really convenient having you around, Young Master,"
Dan muttered.
"Alright, let's get back to butchering the deer. Thanks, Gail."
"You're welcome."
The deer butchering resumed, and Gail was in charge of washing away the blood with his water magic this time. Then, when he was about to light the firewood.
"Let me do it!"
Misha said as she trotted over to Gail.
"Okay, I leave it to you."
Misha nodded and began to concentrate in front of the stove.
Unlike Dan and Arnold, she probably wouldn't overdo it.
"I did it!"
Misha successfully created a small fire with her magic.
"Good jo---"
Just as Gail about to praise her, Dwan cut in.
"Why are you taking so long? There!"
The firewood burst into flames all at once.
"Ah...."
Misha, whose moment in the spotlight had been stolen by Dwan, looked disappointed.
"W-Well, your magic was a success, too."
Gail quickly tried to cheer Misha up.
"What's the matter? It's the same whoever lit the firewood."
You don't get it, Dwan! But putting that aside, no one is reacting even though he had just cast fire magic without incantation. I thought it was something extraordinary.
"Your fire control is as impressive as ever, Dwan."
Aina praised Dwan.
"Dwarves are good with fire. It's only natural."
So it's considered a dwarf trait. Maybe non-incantation magic is actually quite common, but people just don't realize it.
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"Let's eat!"
The men immediately went for the bone-in ribs first, while Gail and the women chose the tenderloin cuts.
"Deer meat is light, but it still has that delicious flavor of red meat."
"You don't get it, kiddo. Deer meat is indeed tasty, but it's a little lacking in flavor. The meat around the ribs is more flavorful."
Dwan spoke, his mouth greasy with fat.
"You're getting on in years, shouldn't you eat something with less fat?".
"I'm not that old yet. I'm not even 100 years old!"
Not even 100 years old? How long do dwarves live?
"Gail, dwarf is a long-lived race. If you use human lifespan as a comparison, Dwan is about the same age as me. Or are you saying Mom is getting on in years, too?"
Aina smiled at Gail, but he felt an immense pressure from her.
"I-I think I still can pass Mom off as my big sister."
Aina pinched Gail's cheek when he said this while averting his eyes.
"Delicious! The meat is delicious!"
Meanwhile, Misha was stuffing her face with meat while looking like she was melting without a care in the world.
"Eating grilled meat like this outside reminds me of our adventurer days."
Arnold spoke while looking into the distance.
"You are right. We hunted some animals, grilled it over a fire, and ate it together like now.”
"Yeah, but it wasn't this good. The meat was often burnt outside, but raw inside. Or meat that made your mouth numb."
"That's right! That's right!"
The three former members of the hero party laughed together.
"How about you, Dan?"
"I think it was worse than what they had to go through. There was a time when I had nothing to eat that I even ate goblin meat just to fill my stomach. I will not eat their meat ever again...."
"You actually ate goblin meat!?"
Miguel asked Dan in surprise.
"Yeah, it was the worst meat I've ever tasted. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick even now."
I see, I'll definitely never eat goblin meat.
"Even so, this is much tastier than the food I eat with my apprentices."
"Of course. Food tastes best when you eat with your comrades. It would be even better if we had some alcohol here."
"You think so too, Big Bro? I should have brought some ale."
The dwarf brothers burst into laughter.
"Thank you, Young Master. I'm so happy today."
Misha thanked Gail, tears welling up in her eyes.
"If you feel that way, then it was worth the effort."
Looks like I was able to do what I couldn't for my wife here. I feel as if the knot in my chest had loosened a bit.
"Now then, let's get back to work!"
Dwan and Miguel returned to their work. Meanwhile, the others went back to the training ground to watch Gail train.
"Young Master, starting today, we will practice continuous slashes."
I usually practice vertical slash, horizontal slash, and diagonal slash using separate boards, but now there is one board with various gaps on it.
"First, swing your sword vertically downwards and then diagonally upwards to the right."
From vertical downwards to diagonal upwards to the right, huh,
*slash*
*slash*
Gail managed to do it in one try.
"You succeeded in one shot. Next, from vertical downwards to diagonal upward to the left."
*slash*
*crack*
Gail failed and broke his sword this time.
"Do you know why you failed?"
"It's difficult to swing my sword diagonally upwards to the left after swinging it downwards."
It's not that difficult if all I need is to swing my sword diagonally upwards to the left, but the difficulty level increases drastically when I have to do it in succession with different swings.
"Young Master is right-handed. The way you hold the sword makes some directions easier and others harder."
I see. It's like trying to eat with your left hand when you are right-handed.
"Okay, one more time!"
*slash* *crack*
*slash* *crack*
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It's not going well.I've already broken several swords.
"Let me show you how it's done."
Arnold volunteered himself to demonstrate it.
*slash* *slash* *slash* *slash*
"This is how it's done. Got it?"
"You are too fast. I can't see it!"
Arnold was getting carried away because he wanted to show off.
"My bad. My bad. I will move slower, so watch carefully."
*slash* *slash* *slash* *slash*
I see. The trick is to reposition your sword after each swing. It's easier to see because the sword is broad. Did Dan consider this too when making them?
"I got it now. Thank you."
Gail began to concentrate while replaying Arnold's previous movements in his mind.
*slash* *slash*
"Dad, Dan, I did it!"
The two looked at Gail while sighing.
"Gail, it won't be a training if you cut the board with your Fighting Spirit."
Looking closely, Gail found out that he cut the board cleanly instead of swinging it through the gaps.
Did I subconsciously use strengthening magic on my wooden sword? I have no right to criticize Arnold and Dan about their magic control after this.