Chapter 506

Fran-chan was depressed for a while when Master was gone. Her face didn't show it, but her voice and eyes were lacking strength.

At night, while being buried in Urushi's fur, she stared up at the stars in a daze, just like a child her age would act.

But even so, after a few days, she was slowly getting back on track.

「Let's do our best okay? You wanted to surprise Master when he comes back, right?」

「Nn!」

「I'll be more strict on you then!」

「Just like I wished」

Fran-chan's determination was genuine. In fact, I even scolded her several times for being a little too enthusiastic.

When I came back to Alessa, my equipment was often badly damaged. Not only that, but the sword I had procured for her had broken, and she was in the process of healing her injuries.

Apparently, they had been challenging high-ranked magic beasts and were being defeated multiple times. They also had recklessly fought a series of unreasonable battles.

She was not a child who will stop, no matter what I say, and I have no right to force her to stop. Fran-chan is already a full-fledged adventurer. She can make her own decisions and take responsibility for everything she has done.

Even if she gets badly injured or even dies from her training. It's hard for me to not be strict with her though because I myself have become stronger through repeated reckless training.

All I can do is to come to these plains more often and train her until she almost dies.

However, a little over a month later, something strange happened to Fran-chan and Urushi. They began to lose their spirits.

There was also a change in their diet. They used to eat curry rice with brown sauce, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, this was reduced to one meal a day, then one meal every three days, and finally, there was nothing left to eat.

It was Fran-chan's favorite dish, but it was difficult to make and the ingredients were very hard to find. Fran-chan seems to be a good cook, but she doesn't have the ingredients.

In the end, she managed to cover it up by getting some of the spices for the curry from Alessa and sprinkling them on the meat.

If there had been an infinite supply of curry, Fran-chan and Urushi would have been able to make more progress in their training.

「Well, can you dodge this then?」

「Haa!」

「Good! Yes, just like that! You have to read your enemy's aim, and be careful of their feint」

「Nn!」

Fran-chan's movements were getting better and sharper every day. I may be wielding my whip like it was nothing, but inside, I was covered in a cold sweat.

After training without magic and only using weapons in the mock battles, I decided that it was almost time to let her give it a shot.

The training between Fran and I was not limited to mock battles. Fighting magic beasts was also part of our training.

Her opponent was magic beasts with a threat level of D. Sometimes, she handicaps herself and uses her sword techniques only, and sometimes she would only use her magic. That's how she fights and defeats them. My presence here was just insurance in case of an emergency.

There was something interesting about her fights though. Sometimes I thought she was in a daze, but suddenly she was moving much better than before. I can only assume that someone had given her some advice, but there was no sign that she was talking to anyone.

Fran-chan said it was a sword spirit, but I couldn't feel any signs of a spirit around. It was hard to tell from her straight face, but it seems that Fran-chan was able to make jokes.

Well, maybe she's just adjusting her movements while organizing various things in her head.

「You broke your sword again huh~」

「Nn...」

The problem, for now, was her weapon.

There were a few weapons in Fran-chan's dimensional storage, as well as a magic sword. However, they were unable to withstand Fran-chan's power. Even the strongest magic sword made of phantasm pyroxene stone was easily shattered in just two weeks.

So, I started selling the magic beast materials that Fran-chan defeated at Alessa to buy some swords for her, but there was no way I could get a sword worthy of Fran-chan so quickly.

But it was also good training for her to learn how to hold back when using a weaker sword. The situation just continued like that until Alistair showed up.

Alistair――A Divine level blacksmith suddenly appeared in the Plains of the Demon Wolf in early winter when it began to snow. Because she was using a powerful stealth magic tool, she suddenly appeared near the pedestal without us even noticing. Honestly, I was startled by the mysterious woman wearing high-quality equipment with a surprisingly high-level fighting prowess of her own.

At first, I thought she was a member of the special forces of Raidos Kingdom, so I couldn't help but take a stance. The other side seemed to feel the same way, and if Fran-chan hadn't intervened, we might have ended up killing each other.

Surprisingly, she was a good person to talk to, and we quickly became friends.

Alistair then made a sword for Fran-chan made of heavy magic steel. And as expected of a Divine-ranked blacksmith, she was able to create such a work of art in a week. Unintentionally, I even asked her to make a whip for me.

She then promised to make it for me as long as I gathered the materials by myself, so I'll be working hard to gather them.

Alistair was away from the Plains of the Demon Wolf now at my request. In addition to my whip, there was also something else I wanted her to make. Alistair seemed to have been thinking about the same thing, and she accepted without a second thought.

And then, a few days of training passed. Urushi lost his right leg and his right eye due to his recklessness. It was as if he was in a hurry for something.

And finally, the day had come.

「Shii! Just like that!」

「Haa!」

「Nnha! Tho-!」

She used her sword to flick off my whip technique and then ducked through the gap in the whip to get close to me. I pulled the whip back and threw a kick, but she ducked and thrust perfectly. The last attack she used must have been the dagger technique.

The perfect combination of sword skills and sword techniques, without any delay, and her ability to observe one's surroundings. In addition, she could control her body-enhancing skills with precision. All of this was on full display during her attacks.

「That's the first time you managed to get a perfect thrust in huh~」

「Nn! But it's not over yet」

「Fuh. Then, let's go for the next one!」

「Nn!」

I'm really looking forward to the result of her training.

Another month or so had passed after that. Urushi had never given up and continued to fight with all his might even after losing his legs and eyes, and then he had achieved a surprising evolution.

「Fran-chan, what's wrong? Aren't you going to train?」

Unusually, Fran-chan had been awake since sunrise. And she was sitting in front of the pedestal with her knees in her arms, refusing to move. Beside her, the newly evolved Urushi was sitting in a well-behaved position.

When I asked Fran-chan, who seemed happy for some reason, what she was doing, her answer was a surprise.

「Nn. Master is coming back」

「Eh? Really?」

「Master, 'is said' to be back in about 150 days, and today is exactly 150 days after he left」

「Is said? Are you talking about the sword spirit's voice?」

I can't hear it, but apparently, she really was hearing the voice of the sword spirit. She said that it was not Master, but a woman with a funny name of Announcer-san.

She doesn't respond every time, but it seems that she gives her information about Master's current situation and sometimes helps with her training.

「She says he's almost back, but she doesn't know the exact time. It may be two hours, or maybe two days」

「Eh? two days?」

「Nn」

Fran-chan nodded her head and went back to staring at the pedestal.

「Are you going to wait...?」

「Nn」

She stared back at me with an angry look as if saying 'Naturally'. It seems that she really intends to keep waiting for Master.

「I-I'll wait with you too...」

「Nn」

Master, please get back here quickly!