We held a meeting to decide tomorrow’s schedule

---

“Amazing! Delicious!”
“Haha, really? Is it because you defeated the orc?”
“Wuff! Wuff!”

We ate Liza’s orc for dinner.
Everyone sat around the fire, and Ms. Lyra cooked the meat.
Of course, Liza, I and the others helped as well.
While dinner was being made, Mr. Ekenhart alone went into the river. And with the water up to his waist, he started swinging his swords in the air.

He was holding a katana and regular sword together, for weight… I had heard him muttering something about not falling behind a kid… So perhaps seeing Liza and Tilura had inspired him.
However, he was the duke. Was it really necessary for him to become any stronger…
He could already protect himself just fine… Well, I suppose it was good to want to improve.
In any case, I watched him as we finished preparing the food, and then it was time to eat.

Liza was very happy to eat the orc that she had killed.
Tilura had been like that as well. I suppose it was different when you did it yourself.
Was it similar to how vegetables tasted better when you grew and harvested them yourself?
Well, it probably had more to do with being released from the pressure, and also being hungry after moving.

“Mr. Takumi. Do you have a moment?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Wuff?”

After I finished eating, I relaxed in front of the fire with Liza and Leo. That was when Mr. Ekenhart approached me.
He seemed a little serious.

“It’s about our plans for tomorrow…”

And so I left Liza with Leo, and we moved away in order to start a little meeting.
There were two fires, and around this one, aside from Mr. Ekenhart and me, were Sebastian, Ms. Claire, and Phillip.
Sebastian always joined in such discussions, and Phillip was a guard.
Ms. Claire had been with a tired-looking Ms. Anne a moment ago. But I suppose she was here to stop her father from planning anything strange.

“Now, everyone is here.”
“I could have called Mr. Takumi. You did not have to go, Your Grace.”
“Well, I was closer. And you were looking for Phillip. In any case, that is not important.”

It was true that Sebastian was usually the one to call everyone during such times.
However, Mr. Ekenhart didn’t really care about it.

“In any case, tomorrow. Today, Mr. Takumi and Tilura showed fine skill in dealing with orcs. Sherry and Liza as well.”
“I did not expect little Liza to be that strong…”
“I felt the same. The plan had been to show that she lacked power so that she wouldn’t have to fight the orc…”
“But she would never have been in danger in the first place if you just refused her, father…”
“That is true… But I didn’t want to do that, because she seemed so enthusiastic about it.”

Apparently, Ms. Claire was still angry about testing Liza in the first place. And while I agreed that Mr. Ekenhart tended to cause trouble, I didn’t think he was to blame in this instance.
After all, I had also not wanted to hurt Liza’s feelings, and so I had said nothing…
But Ms. Claire saw Liza like a little sister, so she was very worried.

“Ms. Claire, I was not able to stop it either. There was no other way. Besides, the result was that we learned she could fight quite well…”
“…If that’s what you say, Mr. Takumi…I will accept it…”

I intervened partly because if this went any further, she would start blaming me as well.
In any case, she was satisfied and backed down.
Mr. Ekenhart sighed in relief, and then his face became serious again.

“Mr. Takumi has experienced battles a number of times. So, perhaps you would like to try fighting multiple enemies at once now?”
“Multiple enemies?”
“Yes. Two or more orcs. And when you get used to it, you can team up with Phillip, and experience two against two battles.”
“I am ready at any time.”
“Two…I see… Yes, I did something similar in Range village, so I think I should be able to manage.”
“In that case, Mr. Takumi will fight two orcs tomorrow. And if things go well, you can team up with Phillip or someone else later. This will be training for when you have to cooperate with others while fighting. While you could go with the other guards…Phillip would be best, as he has his own subordinates.”

As I had some experience with battle, I was to face multiple orcs tomorrow.
I had already fought more than two in Range village.
At that time, I had been desperate to buy some time. And tried to keep it one on one as much as possible.
And since the villagers had also helped me, I was never completely surrounded by orcs. But it was still a similar situation.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World