SRALL c191

Ch. 191: On One Particular Day of Rest

I felt my arms being weighed down by something heavy.

By using the gravity control, I made the Nyoiten Spear at the heaviest setting where I could still control it.

Henry: “Fuhhh, Fuhhhh……..fuh!!” (*sfx: exhale)

And feeling every muscle in my body tense as I grip the spear, I throw it.

………and before it crosses the training ground boundary, I call it back!

Henry: “ーーーーーyes!!”

I tightly grip the spear as it appears in my hand and kill the momentum.

……when I call the Nyoiten Spear back, its previous velocity still remains, so I need to be very careful when calling it back while it is in flight.

Large beads of sweat drip down my face as I reach for the towel to wipe it off.

Today, we took a break from expeditions.

So that’s why from early this morning, I was using the Cries of the Stars Inn’s…..errr, well, the southside of the city had a lot of open land, so most inns in this area had a training field built next to it. I was doing my training there.

Now then….I started counting with my hand as I reflected back on the training I just completed. I needed to know how much fatigue I accumulated.

I did 50 sprints with magecraft weights on both arms and feet.

I placed plenty of weight on my body as I did 10 sets of full body muscle training.

I did 20 sets of form training with the spear.

I did……….actually, I stopped counting after 1000, but did quite a bit of practice swings with my spear.

And now, weighing down the Nyoiten Spear, I did about 100 spear throws.

Henry: “..........I guess that’s enough.” If I do any more, if there’s an emergency, I would not be able to move optimally.

Concluding my training here, I start stretching to wrap it up.

I carefully observe how my muscles are doing as I stretch them one by one. Once I was done, I take a bottle of water and rehydrate.

I’m sweating quite a bit…….but I can borrow the bath, and use my own Magecraft to make hot water and wash it off.

So as I made these plans and put away all the training equipment, someone else entered the training field.

Henry: “...........oh, it’s just Jend.”

It was someone I knew very well.

Besides him, there were other young Adventurers who were regulars at the Cries of the Stars Inn.

Glancing at the group, there was no one I knew very well. Since we have been at the inn for quite a while now, I do know their faces and names, but I’ve only greeted them briefly and never chatted with any of them.

Jend: “Hm? Oh! Hey, Henry!”

Jend noticed me and called out as he approached. His group followed.

Henry: “Hey, Jend. ……and…..Harry, Gerald, and………Lute, was it?”

Lute: “That’s correct. Hello, Mr. Henry.” Lute, the friendliest out of the 3, bowed his head politely.

Harry: “Hey.”

Gerald: “Hi.” And the other two also greeted me briefly.

I believe these 3 actually formed a Party.

Henry: “Jend, did you know these 3?”

Jend: “No, we got talking in the inn’s living room just a moment ago. Since we’re all on a break, I thought we could do a practice match.”

Oh……..as a bit of a battle junky, Jend really likes doing matches. As long as you don’t take it too far, it’s not a bad thing for an Adventurer.

Jend: “Care to join us, Henry?” Henry: “If you came just a little earlier, I would have. I’m pretty tired from the training, so I’ll pass for today. I’ll just observe.” Jend: “Really? That’s too bad.” Jend and his group began doing their warmups.

As they stretched and got their bodies ready, Harry spoke up.

Harry: “Mr. Henry? I’ve been meaning to ask you. You’ve gotten to know the people in Star Nights and the Lady Saint of Salvation, correct? How is that? I thought you came to Ligaleo with Jend.”

Henry: “Oh, that? It’s not my first time here. I left a year and half ago, and before that, I formed Parties with Yuu and Ageha and fought on the 1st Line. I’ve gone on a few Foreign Campaigns too.”

The 3 let out a surprised awe in response.

Jend: “? I don’t really understand, but is that something impressive?” Harry: “What?! Of course it is! Only a handful of Heroic Warriors get to go on Foreign Campaigns!”

A Foreign Campaign requires you to sneak into the Demon Kingdom’s territory and take out as many Demonic Creatures. That is the responsibility of the Foreign Campaign team. Even among Knights and Adventurers, only a handful of the top area allowed to go.

Henry: “Well, Jend, you’re probably strong enough to go on a campaign, but the Demon Kingdom has high levels of corrupted magic density, and because there’s so many creatures, it’s difficult finding any time to rest. So we’ll consider going once you learn how to deal with that.”

For those not accustomed to high corrupted magic density, it can start causing health issues. And it takes a certain kind of skill to be able to hide from creatures while you rest.

I was planning on teaching these things once our Party began comfortably completing 1st Line expeditions.

Harry: “I know you already made it to the 2nd Line, but Jend, you must be quite strong…..”

Jend: “Well, I do have a bit of confidence in my own skills………but because of who I’m Partied with, I still know I have a long way to go.”

And Jend chuckles at his own comment.

It’s true that I’ve been pummeling Jend during practice matches, but he has a very serious personality to begin with. Whether I was part of his Party or not, he would never had let his ego get the best of him.

And they all finished with their warmups.

And the practice match between the young generation of Adventurers began.

<<<<>>>>

Jend and the 3 Adventurers fought in a round-robin tournament style.

Later that day, rumors somehow spread, and the Adventurers on their off day began coming out to spectate the fight.

And naturally, they began betting on the winners of each match.

This made Jend’s group uncomfortable, but they were able to fight under more nervous pressure, so the overall result was okay.

And since I had a sneak peak at the group as they warmed up, I was able to gather enough information early on about their general strengths and compatibility to one another. I thoroughly enjoyed myself putting down bets and fattening my wallet.

<<<<>>>>

Cyril: “.........ugh, what are you doing?”

Henry: “What? It’s just what men do. Yeah…”

I was sitting on the bed in Cyril’s room, and as I explained what happened, she looked exasperated.

Henry: “And…..I haven’t seen your room in a while, but there’s more stuff here.”

I looked around and was impressed.

The room was exactly the same as mine. There was a bed and room enough for a small chest. But Cyril managed to decorate the place really nicely.

At the corner of the room, she had set up an attachable wall shelf and placed a small vase with flowers.

She also had the photos I took in Flowtier ーー pictures of the city, the Governor, and Cyril’s friendsーー and decorated the walls.

Next to her bed, a nice scent wafted from a potpourri.

It would take forever to go over all the small details, but overall, her room gave the homely, restful room to sleep vibe. Unlike my room, it felt comfortable and soothing to be in here.

Henry: “They sold stuff like this in Ligaleo, huh. I never knew.”

I picked up a small, stuffed animal on her bed. I was impressed. I couldn’t remember finding anything like this when I was here last.

Cyril: “If you go to the inner walls, you’ll see stores selling stuff like that more. But you will have to pay a premium for goods like that.”

Henry: “Is that so….”

Hmmmm.

Henry: “.......want to go check it out together next time?”

Cyril: “Oh, definitely!”

Her face brightens at my suggestion.

………we had been holding back on going on dates and stuff until Cyril got used to the lifestyle here, but I think enough time has passed.

Henry: “If there are stores and restaurants you’d like to visit, just make a list. You’ll probably know the places far better than I would.”

Cyril: “Yes, I’ve been gathering information at the Womens’ Adventurer Meeting at the Cries of the Stars Inn, so I have all the places mapped too!”

There are far fewer female Adventurers than men. So you will see them band together more often to help one another out. There are many concerns that their male counterparts in their Parties wouldn’t be able to quite understand.

Butーー

Henry: “The Womens’ Meeting, huh. No men allowed, and you borrow the whole living room space once a month. It’s a mystery meeting to us men. ………..so what do you talk about there?” Cyril: “Well, we exchange information like I just said, talk about some concerns we have, andーー......the rest is a secret!”

I knew it.

I’ve asked Yuu and Ageha several times before, but I never get more out of them than this answer.

……between the guys, there’s rumors that they’re probably ranking the men during the meeting. But that’s because if we were to have a men’s meeting, that would definitely happen.

Cyril: “.........are you thinking of something weird?”

Henry: “WHAー?! Hey, stop-ph that!”

Cyril looked suspiciously at me as she began tugging and stretching both my cheeks.

Cyril: “You don’t have to worry. There’s nothing suspicious going on there. Nothing at all.”

She let go of my cheeks as she smiled mischievously.

………yeah, like I’ll believe that. You know what? I’ll just ask Teo. She usually doesn’t care much about guy and girl stuff.

Cyril: *yawn*

And Cyril suddenly let out a big yawn. She had a hand over her mouth, but she looked pretty tired.

Henry: “Sleepy?” Cyril: “Yeahー I guess I’m still tired from the expeditions. It may be a while before I have the energy to train on these days off like you and Jend.”

Cyril’s magic reserves are bottomless, but her stamina is still pretty fragile.

Cyril: “I don’t even move around as much as you two either.”

Henry: “Well, on the 2nd Line, there’s more pressure on you, so that can wear you out faster.”

Unlike when Mr. Riol joined us on the 2nd Lines, the usual 2nd lines typically have no time to take breaks. It’s not that there is not a gap between waves, but all the creatures are mid-tier upper class and above, so you can’t let your guard down at all.

……once they get used to this, we would depart for the 1st line where even stronger creatures appear, and then becoming part of a foreign campaign will be in our reach.

Well, we’re not in any hurry, so there’s no reason to push ourselves to be a part of a foreign campaign so fast.

Henry: “If you’re tired, go ahead and take a nap.”

Cyril: “What～ but I want to talk some more…”

I’d like that too, but it’s more important to prioritize your rest.

As I convince herー

Cyril: “Okay. Then let’s do this. I’ll lie down, and you can tell me a story until I fall asleep.”

Henry: “Until you fall asleep? ……I guess that’s fine.”

I wondered if I would be able to hold myself back once she’s asleep.

……..oh, but at the Cries of the Stars inn, they have a strict rule about that, so I won’t. But…..as long as we don’t cross the line, can’t I at least…..

Cyril: “Oh, and don’t do anything pervy while I’m asleep, okay?!”

Henry: “WhーWhat?! I would never…..”

Cyril: “Your eyes were looking at me weird just now!”

UーUgh…..her instincts are sharp as ever.

Cyril: “Those things……need to happen at the right time and place! If you do anything, I’m telling Miss Yuu!”

…….shーshe’s starting to come up with new strategies against me….

It’s not that I’m afraid of Yuu. Yeah, not at all.

Henry: “*sigh*.....fine, fiーーne. Now go to sleep.”

Cyril: “Hmmm, okay…..”

And Cyril crawls underneath the blankets.

Cyril: “Now then, Henry. What fun story can you tell me about?” Henry: “.....why is the bar getting higher and higher? …….fine. I don’t know if it’s ‘fun’ or not, but I’ll tell you about one of my expeditions.”

Cyril: “Ohhhh, this is going to be good.”

Henry: “........hey, what do you mean by that?”

I let out an exasperated sigh, and as Cyril fell asleep, I recalled a few stories from my past.

<<<<>>>>

CREDITS

Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely

Written by Hisagushien

Translated by: ChonkyTranslator

Japanese Title:

セミリタイアした冒険者はのんびり暮らしたい

作者: 久櫛緑（ヒサグシエン）

http://kuontenrin.ehoh.net/

Original Source:

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1161ft/191/

Book 15 - The Strong Ones

Ch. 185 - 199