"A thief?"
"Yeah. I'm about to lose my mind over it."
The food warehouse thief. Rakson was absolutely furious about it. But Rowan didn't want to get involved in this.
"You're not asking me to do it for nothing, right?"
"I'm teaching you swordsmanship."
"I pay my tuition properly."
Rakson irritably cut his lamb and ate it with strong-smelling vegetables, then took a small sip of water.
'What should I give him?'
After thinking for a bit, Rakson spoke.
"I'll teach you a secret technique."
"A secret technique?"
Rakson nodded.
"It's a sword technique I got from a knight. This is incredibly valuable. It's on a different level from simple cutting and blocking."
"How's it different?"
Rowan was very interested. But Rakson didn't answer easily.
"Just think of it as something that can definitely kill an enemy. If you don't know it, you're bound to die."
"You'd give me something like that? Just for catching a petty thief?"
Rakson nodded.
"It's not that amazing. They probably teach it as basics at fancy noble training schools."
Rakson shrugged. He treated it like it was nothing. Truth was, even he didn't know much about it. Seeing that, Rowan asked something.
"How many times has this secret technique saved your life?"
"Can't even count. Especially against guys who haven't learned proper swordsmanship, it works every single time."
When Rowan showed real interest, Rakson told him one thing.
"There are countless sword technique secrets. There are grades among them. But ultimately, secret techniques are just information gaps. If you know the secret, you can block it. If you don't, you die. A fight's decided in one moment, right?"
It couldn't hurt to know it.
"How much did they take?"
"Just from what I checked on today's list, at least half is gone. I'm talking about a guy who's been coming and going from my warehouse like it's his own house. I've gotta catch him."
"Did they steal expensive stuff too?"
Rakson shook his head.
"Who puts valuables in a warehouse? That warehouse was used for food storage. It was full of sacks of wheat..."
"It's not rats?"
"There's no room for that. I check every year and even patch it up. Plus, there are lots of rat traps. And you know I keep cats and dogs pretty well, right?"
"It's weird the dogs can't catch it either."
At Rowan's words, Rakson laughed.
"Even a petty thief's got some skills. Anyway, if you catch the food warehouse thief, I'll teach you that secret technique like I said."
Rakson had no regrets about teaching it, since he'd planned to pass it on eventually anyway. It was his principle to do what he was paid for. It was a secret technique he'd gotten from saving a knight's life, but Rakson, who'd distanced himself from fighting, didn't need to guard the secret or treasure it.
"I didn't make a big fuss and only used one of my favorite serfs, so the rumors probably didn't spread much."
"Mals knew about it though..."
"He only knows I went to the food warehouse."
Rakson answered immediately to the random comment. Rowan nodded. Rakson had treated him to dinner often enough that it would be unfair to call him materialistic. The two of them naturally enjoyed wine and talked about swordsmanship in the cleared space.
It was their only sport and way to spend time enjoyably, so they could talk late into the night.
He came back late to the house attached to the ranch, but nobody cared. Rowan was the second son. Since he wouldn't inherit the family business, he had to decide his own path.
Most of the few copper coins he earned from helping out halfheartedly at the ranch and the money from other jobs went to Rakson's sword lessons. Of course, that alone wasn't enough. Getting money in the village was hard work, and he also took jobs from Rakson.
'Gotta be satisfied with three meals a day.'
Rowan was grateful that his family provided food, clothing, and shelter. That's the kind of world this was.
The stakeout that started the next day wasn't difficult for Rowan. Ranch work was something he could skip if he explained the situation. Of course, he didn't get paid. But that was important. There was almost zero investment in children here.
'I'll make it up with other work.'
Rowan had done this before, so he just let it go. In places poorer than this, selling your kids wasn't uncommon. You couldn't think of it like modern Earth. Hell, even after the Industrial Revolution, didn't they exploit child labor?
Days of sleeping during the day and pulling all-nighters went on for three days. At least hiding in what little brush there was was only possible because he was a kid.
He loosened his grip on the shortsword at his waist. His palm was drenched in sweat. He wiped his hand in the mud he'd prepared beforehand.
Tearing poisonous leaves to hide the smell was only for emergencies. Since the dirt smell was as strong as the leaf smell, mud was better than getting poisonous leaves on your skin.
Bottom line, mud was best for camouflage. It didn't irritate the skin and blocked the smell well.
Rustle, swish. Scrape, swoosh.
'Here it comes!'
Rowan's eyes, already adjusted to the darkness, turned toward the sound. His blonde hair, covered in mud, didn't even shine in the moonlight.
'About my size. Kid's hungry, but there's gotta be limits.'
At a glance, it looked about his age. But Rowan had no mercy. He planned to catch them red-handed.
The small black figure headed for the food warehouse and started digging into the ground super fast.
'What?'
The digging speed was insane. Unbelievably fast. Yet there was barely any sound. It was so quiet the dogs didn't even bark. The weirdness kept Rowan from moving easily. Meanwhile, it slipped into the food warehouse.
Rowan approached very carefully, taking his time. He didn't draw the shortsword from its sheath.
Swoosh, swish swish! Swoosh!
Sounds started coming from the tunnel again. He hid his body and double-checked that no shadow fell over the tunnel, waiting. The moment the black figure stuck its head out, he swung the shortsword hard, still in its sheath.
Thwack!
It was literally an ambush, so it couldn't make a sound. Just a small whoosh of air. It went limp, and he took out the rope from his waist, tied its arms, tied its legs, and bound them together.
'Got you, you bastard!'
He dragged it out into the darkness. It was small but weighed a decent amount, so he couldn't lift it. If it hadn't been an ambush, it wouldn't have even passed out.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
The hunting dog, chained with scrap iron specifically for Rowan's stakeout, began barking. Rowan knocked on Rakson's door.
It was the thief he'd caught after three days. He felt proud.
"Caught the thief. Sir~."
"Who's 'sir'?"
Rakson was an old man who couldn't sleep deeply. The door opened immediately. And he was shocked when he saw the petty thief.
"What the hell! That's a goblin!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Rowan check the thief. You couldn't tell in the darkness. Plus, goblins adapted for wilderness survival had basically no body odor.
"It really is."
When Rowan spoke casually, Rakson examined the goblin.
"The weapon's a club, well-carved. From the animal hide clothing, this was definitely part of a group."
With a very serious expression and attitude, Rowan crouched down and asked.
"What's the problem?"
"You idiot. This goblin's gear is properly equipped. Means it's not alone. They must've built a settlement near the village."
Then he checked the leather pouch made by pressing animal hide with stones, rolling it over and over until it was stiff.
'Coming one at a time means this goblin did it alone.'
Apparently, it used the grain stolen from the food warehouse to gain influence within the goblin settlement. The well-sharpened stone knife and bronze dagger for stabbing were proof of that. In other words, this was a successful goblin.
"If it's fortunate, it's fortunate. This guy seems to have done it for his own personal gain."
As a retired soldier, his knowledge was impressive too. Rakson instantly traced the situation from the goblin's possessions, creating an outline and drawing the picture. He had the experience and knowledge for it.
"Good work. I'll teach you the secret technique tomorrow... no. I'll just teach you now."
"What? Now?"
Rakson nodded.
"A goblin showed up. How busy will it be starting tomorrow? Now's the only time. Or do you want to learn it in a month at the earliest?"
"Not really."
After tying up the goblin again thoroughly, the lesson took place right there instead of at the training ground.
"Blockieren Zurückfang."
"Blockier... what?"
Rowan made a stupid sound.
"Block and Recapture (Blockieren Zurückfang). A secret technique taught to me by a knight from the Roleon family."
He had to memorize the unique technique name several times. Just in case someone accused him of stealing the technique.
"I won't tell you the detailed backstory. Just remember, I got it from saving Akir Roleon in Tangled Vine Forest. You must remember the technique name too. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the secret technique..."
It would take days to explain all that. Since mastering it only required one successful execution, Rowan would have to grit his teeth and memorize every detail.
"Block and Recapture can't be used without a shield."
Rakson extended his shield forward, then instantly pulled it toward his body. Then he held it out loosely.
'???'
It was absurd. The most important thing about a shield was extending it firmly to block the opponent's movement. The point was to prevent the opponent from swinging their weapon perfectly using centrifugal force because of the shield getting in the way. That itself was important and basic.
Taking away the opponent's space! That alone could win you victory. It sealed off the overwhelming power generated when a human arm swings and made the enemy feel frustrated.
This was kicking the shield basics in the face.
"If someone's used a shield before, if you don't extend it firmly and hold it loosely like this, they'll think you're out of strength or a beginner. Or that you're scared. Either way, it's good for throwing down the gauntlet."
Rowan nodded at Rakson's explanation. Ambiguity was the perfect way to die.
"Are you baiting the opponent's attack?"
"Right. This allows various variations. Right after blocking the opponent's attack, if you do this, you can make it feel like your guard's dropped."
Rakson showed various things. Each movement felt different to the opponent, and since each situation was different, it all depended on Rowan's ability to read the situation.
"When the opponent starts attacking, you press the shield against your body. Since you covered your body with the shield, you won't even get bruised and can block once easily."
Since he'd held it loosely forward, it was possible to press the shield firmly against his body and block the enemy's attack once. The technique wasn't about deflecting strikes with a loosely held shield—that would fail. Instead, you pulled the shield tight against your body and used it like armor to absorb the blow.
"And you reverse your grip on the shield. This is to use the shield to push the opponent's weapon aside. Since you position it to face forward, you have to change the direction of your hand to hold the shield."
Obviously, a wrist snap was faster than recovering a weapon. Since you had to extend it forward to make it look like you're blocking the front, naturally, the hand wasn't positioned right to push sideways, so reversing the grip was essential.
"And after pushing the opponent's weapon aside?"
"You take his neck with your sword."
At Rakson's question, Rowan muttered. A chill ran up his spine.
"If you push the weapon aside with the shield, anyone will have no choice but to allow the sword. The panic will be enormous. Because they were confident they'd win."
Whether their guard had dropped, they'd mistaken him for a rookie, or they'd spotted what seemed like an opening—any of those assumptions would lead to panic. Because victory plummets to defeat in an instant.
"...That's amazing."
The important point was using the wrist snap to knock the opponent's weapon away very hard. The opponent's weapon would get knocked aside as much as if it had been slammed against a steel mass and bounced away.
"Blockieren Zurückfang."
It was a secret technique where you died if you didn't know it. That was also what sword technique secrets were in this world.
Rowan practiced over and over until dawn, saying the pronunciation and very carefully writing it on a stone. It was a difficult pronunciation to remember.
He was totally captivated by the power of one secret technique, but the next morning, he had to wake up to a commotion.
"What's going on?"
His father and eldest brother were getting ready to leave. They were talking loudly while wolfing down corn soup.
"A goblin appeared. The village is in chaos. And it's not even a wandering goblin. You watch the ranch this morning."
"Okay."
Even without a wink of sleep, Rowan nodded. His stamina was pretty amazing, and being young, pulling an all-nighter didn't even feel like pulling an all-nighter.
The two men left the ranch. Rowan had to handle ranch work alone. That's when one of Rakson's serfs came by in the afternoon.
"Rakson's looking for you."
"What for?"
"I don't know either. Just told me to say it's about the goblin."
Rowan left the ranch to his father and eldest brother, who'd come back drunk, and could only go to Rakson's house after sunset.
Knock knock knock.
He knocked on the door.
"Come right in!"
At that shout, Rowan stepped inside. There were several people at the big round table.
"Sit at the lowest seat. That empty chair there."
Rowan nodded once and sat down. Then he looked around.