17 First Nigh (1/2)

When Kalistra returned to the dojo, she saw her papa meditating in front of the pond.As she approached Kalistro, the daughter realized that he was sitting near the spot where I had vomited; she involuntarily winced at the memory of my disgraceful act.

”Welcome home, daughter,” the father said without opening his eyes.”Did your new pupil get home safely?” he asked.

”Oh, um, yes, he did,” Kalistra admitted as her ears bent down.If papa knew that she had followed the stupid human home, then Kalistro would be aware of how she had purposely driven me into physical exhaustion.Her eyes stared at the ground as she waited for the inevitable scolding from papa.

Yet, the Grandmaster did not speak a word of her harsh method of teaching her pupil.He was content with the fact that his daughter followed her Honor.It would sully the Honor of both the teacher and the dojo itself if the new pupil did not reach home safely.That was the important thing.How the instructor chose to teach the pupil was irrelevant; what mattered was the result and not the method of teaching.Of course, Kalistro was well aware that his daughter was purposely making my training much harder than necessary.However, if I persisted in returning to the dojo for further training, it spoke highly of my personal character.

”Um, papa, why did you assign me to teach that stupid human?” she asked.

Kalistro finally opened his eyes and looked at her with disapproving eyes.”The student reflects on the teacher.If your pupil is stupid, then you have a responsibility, as his teacher, to correct him and to teach him properly.You should think of Lawrence as a 'smart human' because when you are finished instructing him, Lawrence will be the smartest human in Tregome,” he said as the trace of a smile began to creep into his otherwise stern facial expression.

The daughter pouted at his admonishment and decided to change the topic.”Well, Lawrence is an interesting human,” she admitted.”He's actually stuck at Level 1.Can you believe that?” she exclaimed incredulously and shook her head.”His Intelligence score is fairly high; he would make an ideal mage, to be honest.I'm not sure it's worth his time to study swordsmanship under me when he could find a mage to study under instead.Oh, and one more thing—Lawrence claimed that he arrived here this morning.I hope he isn't going insane,” she complained.”But then again, considering that he seems to be middle-aged, perhaps it's only a matter of time before he joins the mental ward,” she added.

Kalistro's ears flickered at something his daughter had said.”Lawrence is at level one?” he asked.His whiskers and tail twitched slightly, but Kalistra did not notice.

”Yup,” the daughter replied.

”And he claimed to be from another world?” the father pressed.

”Well . . . he didn't make that claim, exactly.I jokingly asked if he arrived in this world yesterday.He said he arrived this morning.And he seemed to be very serious when he said it,” she recalled.Perhaps her new pupil WAS going crazy.

”I see,” Kalistro was lost in thought for a moment.He looked up at Kalistra.”I would like you to continue pushing Lawrence as hard as his body can endure.If he's only at the first level, then it would be dangerous for him if other people become aware of this fact.People may challenge him to a duel and use that as an excuse to kill him and take his money and gear.However, if Lawrence is officially enrolled in our dojo, then our excellent reputation in swordsmanship will make people less likely to challenge him.”

”Yes, papa,” Kalistra bowed obediently.

#

I ate my dinner in eerie silence.I wasn't kidding when I told Gendun during lunch that I preferred to eat with company.Back on Earth, I would get my random dining companion by simply eating at a fast food joint or a coffee shop.I would eat slowly while eavesdropping on conversations and observing other patrons.It was a great way to get new ideas and inspiration for characters for my books.Also, I admit that I had this irrational fear of becoming one of those social deviants who stay shuttered indoors and avoided human contact; in Japan, these folks were called ”Hikikomori,” or people who were withdrawn from society by voluntarily confining themselves.Thus, I made a conscious effort to mingle in public at least once daily as my mental health apparently depended on it.

Tonight's dinner was chicken leg over corn and bread.Unfortunately, the drumstick was a tad burnt and I had to use my fingers to pull the burned skin off.My drink was honey mead which actually went quite well with my meal.I wondered if Amelica had chosen my drink.The good thing about eating alone, though, was that I didn't need to use utensils to eat the chicken.I couldn't imagine trying to cut the drumstick with a fork and knife like the nobleman that I was pretending to be.Thank God for small favors.

Suddenly, I facepalmed my forehead.

*SMACK*