Chapter 5 - Teach Me, Big Sis Eliana!
[Eliana's POV]
"Lady Eliana, one's coming your way!"
A giant rat leaped over the furrows and came rushing toward me. Its body was as large as a dog, and its yellow fangs were stained with dirt. I stepped half a pace to the side and brought my wooden sword down.
Another tried to escape into a ditch beside the field. Luca circled around to cut it off and swept his sword low.
The grass rustled, and the clouds of dust gradually settled. That was the last of the monsters that had been ravaging the field.
"Are you hurt?"
"No. The blade is fine, too."
Luca checked his sword and wiped the dirt off with a piece of cloth.
It was a secondhand sword he'd finally managed to buy with the money he'd saved from repairing shoes. I'd accompanied him when he went to choose it. It had no decorations, and the scabbard bore old scratches, but it fit his hand well.
"It's a little heavier than my previous sword."
"It'll be easier to handle if you don't swing it using only your arms."
"Yes. Please teach me again when we get back."
He nodded and carefully sheathed his sword. Watching him do so reminded me of the day I'd received my first wooden sword.
Even after I started working at the Seaside Inn, whenever a monster-subjugation request came up nearby, the two of us would head out together like this.
Of course, I made sure to get time off from Ms. Hannah, and Luca arranged his schedule around his work at the shoemaker's shop. Our conditions for accepting a request were that it couldn't take us too far from the port and that we had to be back by the agreed-upon time.
We were gradually saving enough not only for the ship fare but also for living expenses after crossing the sea.
"I think I'll be able to eat a lot at dinner today."
"You ate a lot yesterday, too."
"That's because I stitched shoe soles yesterday."
"So you get hungry no matter what you do, huh?"
Luca laughed. I laughed, too, and we started down the road toward town, our boots still caked with dirt.
◇◆◇
Two children were standing in front of the Seaside Inn.
The boy was gripping a long stick with both hands, while the girl held on to his sleeve. The moment they saw me, both of them straightened up.
"It's the wooden-sword big sis!"
"Me?"
"Yeah! I'm Toma!"
The boy lifted his sunburned nose proudly as he spoke.
"Please take me on as your disciple!"
I stopped with my hand halfway to drawing the wooden sword from my belt.
"...My disciple?"
"I wanna beat up huge monsters, too!"
"Me too."
The girl took a step forward. Her short braid swayed against her shoulder.
"I'm Mina. I want you to teach me how to use a sword."
"Why do you both want me to teach you?"
"You beat that giant crab with a big ol' bam, right?!"
"Dad said you sliced it clean in one go."
"Either way, that means you're strong!"
Mina glanced at Toma before looking back at the sword at my waist.
"It really is made of wood."
Without drawing it, I showed her the hilt of my wooden sword. Mina gently ran her fingers over the old scratches.
"Is this some kind of amazing treasure?"
"It is to me. But the wood itself is just ordinary oak."
"Then can I become strong with one of these, too?"
Toma held up his stick. It was longer than my wooden sword, and its tip was slightly split.
"Let's start by fixing that tip."
"You'll teach us?!"
Their faces lit up at once.
I looked at Luca. He gave me a somewhat troubled smile, then nodded slightly.
"I can help, too."
"But I've never taught anyone how to use a sword..."
"You were teaching me just a moment ago."
Not to swing using only his arms.
That was certainly what I'd told him.
But the children standing before me weren't like Luca, who had received knightly training. Toma's fingers wrapped around his stick were thin, and Mina's shoelaces looked like they would come undone the moment she started walking.
"If you're fine with just practicing together until I board the ship, why don't we give it a try?"
The two children shouted in unison.
"Teach us, Big Sis Eliana!"
I didn't remember telling them my name yet.
Ms. Hannah poked her head out of the inn's window.
"They've been coming by since this morning, asking three times whether you'd come back yet."
"So that's how they learned my name?"
"You're our star waitress, after all."
I scratched the side of my face.
Word traveled faster around town than I'd expected.
◇◆◇
When I stepped into the Seaside Inn's backyard during my lunch break the next day, there were five children waiting for me.
"...There are more of you."
"When I told them about it, they said they wanted to come, too."
"Was I not supposed to bring them without asking?"
Mina peeked out from behind Toma.
Some children were clutching sticks, while others had come empty-handed. Even a few parents had gathered by the windows to see what was going on.
Ms. Hannah planted her hands on her hips.
"You can use the yard. Just don't cut the sheets hanging out to dry."
"I won't."
"But you cut up giant crabs, don't you?"
"That's not what we're practicing today."
The night before, I'd shortened Toma's stick and rounded off its split tip. I'd made one for Mina, too. For the others, Ms. Hannah had given me some spare pieces of wood, and I'd prepared their practice weapons on the spot.
Luca checked each child's grip in turn and wrapped cloth around any spots that might cause splinters or discomfort.
"First, try standing the way I do."
I spread my feet apart and slightly bent my knees. When I raised my wooden sword, all five sticks rose in unison.
Their shoulders rose along with their sticks.
"You don't need to put so much strength into it. Breathe out."
"When do we get to cut down monsters?"
"Not yet."
"Then what about that rock over there?"
"That's holding down Ms. Hannah's pickles, so definitely don't cut that."
Laughter came from the other side of the window.
Toma pouted as he watched my feet. Mina, meanwhile, shifted her own feet little by little, imitating the way I had positioned mine.
I swung my wooden sword slowly.
Or at least, I thought I had.
"Again!"
All five of them were still holding their stances.
Luca covered his mouth.
"Lady Eliana. A little more slowly."
"...That was too fast?"
"It was a little fast even for me."
I remembered the day when I hadn't even realized what was happening until my master's wooden sword struck me on the forehead.
Had I looked at my master with the same expression back then?
This time, I paused with the sword raised. Then I lowered the tip and stopped again once I'd finished the swing.
The five sticks moved at different speeds.
"Like this?"
"That's right. Mina, keep your feet where they are."
"What about me?!"
"Toma, swing at a speed that lets you stay on your feet when you're done."
Before I could finish speaking, Toma's body lurched forward.
Luca caught him by the shoulder. Toma planted his feet again, his ears turning bright red.
"...That one doesn't count."
"That happens to me, too."
"Even you, big bro?"
"When I use too much strength. I only just learned that from Lady Eliana myself."
Toma looked up.
Luca stood beside him, and they swung their sticks together. This time, both of them stopped at exactly the same point.
"I did it!"
Toma looked at me.
I nodded. He then assumed his stance again, paying just a little more attention to the position of his feet than before.
◇◆◇
Mina wasn't very talkative, but she kept glancing at my hands.
"Big Sis, what about here?"
"Your thumb?"
"When I squeeze too hard, my arm starts to hurt."
"You don't have to grip it so tightly. Try holding it just firmly enough that you won't drop it."
When she loosened her fingers, Mina's shoulders relaxed a little.
"That's it. Is it easier to move now?"
"Yeah."
Her stick made a soft swishing sound through the air.
Mina's eyes widened as she looked at Toma beside her. He, too, was examining his own stick again.
I crouched down between them.
"Toma, what kind of swordsman do you want to become?"
"I wanna go aboard a ship and defeat monsters in faraway places! If the people on the ship are in trouble, I'll be the one who goes out to help!"
"I see. What about you, Mina?"
"I...don't know yet."
Mina held the cloth-wrapped grip with both hands.
"But I thought you looked cool holding a sword, Big Sis. I wanted to try holding one, too."
I touched the wooden sword at my waist.
Because it made me look the part of a prince. Because I had to be useful. For a long time, I'd held on to those reasons just as tightly as I'd held my sword.
The child before me simply said she'd wanted to try holding one.
"Then, how did it feel to hold one today?"
"...It was fun."
"Good. Then let's do it again."
At last, Mina's lips softened into a smile.
Seeing that smile, I found myself already thinking about what to teach them next.
Would they get bored if all they did was practice downward swings? If I taught them footwork, perhaps I could draw circles on the ground and have them step into each one.
And yet, I was the one who'd said just yesterday that I'd never taught anyone before.
"All right, that's enough!"
At Ms. Hannah's voice, everyone turned around. On the tray she was carrying were cups of water and thinly sliced apples.
"Time for a break, teachers and students alike!"
Teachers.
Luca and I exchanged glances almost simultaneously.
The children set down their sticks and began washing their hands by the well. Toma, who'd been wearing the stern expression of a swordsman just moments ago, was now seriously comparing the sizes of the apple slices.
I took a slice, too. Its sweet-and-sour juice spread across my dry mouth.
"Big Sis."
Mina tugged at my sleeve.
"Will you teach us again tomorrow?"
"Of course. I can teach you for a little while before I start work at the inn."
As soon as I answered, Toma spun around excitedly.
"Then I'll be the first one here!"
"If you come too early, Big Sis won't get enough sleep."
"Then call me as soon as you wake up!"
Just how loud did I have to raise my voice to get through to him?
Luca laughed, and Ms. Hannah laughed, too. When I finally joined in, the children laughed along with us without even asking what was so funny.
The sea breeze billowed the sheets hanging out to dry. Beneath them, countless little footprints marked the ground.
Tomorrow, I'd teach them how to take the next steps along those little footprints.
I finished my apple and rested my wooden sword across my knees.
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