Oraa!


    Christo swings his sword with a loud shout.


    The demon in front of him - tearing apart the body of an orc.


    A humanoid demon with a pig''s head. It is more than two meters long and has a strong and large club.


    However, it''s not fast, and me and Christo can kill it quite easily because it''s a sword that focuses on speed.


    Finally, one of them came up behind me and swung the club down to strike me, but I easily avoided it and turned around and drew my sword and dropped its head.


    ''Good work, Christo,''


    Oh, you too, Eric.


    We looked at each other and gave each other high fives.


    This demon was the target of today''s request to be defeated.


    It is an opponent that ordinary adventurers would have a hard time with, but if we are trained, we are not an opponent to lose if we are not careless and fight.


    The best thing about this is that it''s not the only thing that can be done. Let''s go home now.


    ''Well, the prince shouldn''t be out there for too long, should he?


    Yeah, it''s a pain in the ass.


    I really want to kill a few more strong demons and fight more of them, but Christo''s title as a prince gets in the way of that.


    The sun is about to go down soon, so if we don''t leave at this point, many knights will come looking for Christo.


    But as expected, Eric is strong. It''s only because he beat Liberto!


    Thanks.


    All my swords were learned from you, Christo.


    In a previous life, when you and I became friends, I wasn''t strong at all.


    I ran away from goblins and other lowly demons to the point where I lost my parents and Tina.


    When I heard that you could use swords and magic, I immediately begged you to teach me.


    I didn''t want to be protected anymore.


    Now that I think about it, you can use both swords and magic because you''re royalty.


    It seems it''s usually one or the other, so I was lucky to have a teacher. Well, when I was learning, I could hardly use magic.


    It''s a good thing that you can''t use it, but it did give you some knowledge, so it was easier to deal with things like fighting someone who used magic.


    Plus, in this life, I could teach Tina.


    ''Who did Eric learn to use a sword from?''


    I''m self-taught.


    You can''t tell me you taught me how to do that, can you?


    ''Really?　Wow, you got that strong all by yourself.


    Yeah, it''s great.


    I''ll just have to push the fact that I''m self-taught now.


    I''m not that much of a genius though........


    ''What about battoujutsu?　Is that one self-taught?


    ''Yes, but...''


    ''Heh, I see. Looks like the Liberto one I saw before, though...


    Liberto?　Lieutenant Commander, is that vomit?


    Battoujutsu, well, now that I have a sword, it''s Battoujutsu, but it''s really also something I learned from Christo.


    If it''s similar to the vice commander, it probably means that Christo was referring to the vice commander when he was teaching me.


    Hmm?　The deputy commander''s Battoujutsu........she didn''t have one arm, so she couldn''t do Battoujutsu, right?


    Battoujutsu, the art of pulling out the sword in its scabbard and delivering a single blow.


    A right-handed person would need to hold the scabbard with his left hand to do it.


    The sub-commander can''t do it because he doesn''t have a left arm.


    ''Yeah, I saw that guy when he still had his left arm.


    Christo explained to me that he knew what I was thinking.


    ''That guy''s machete technique was insanely fast. Aside from me and ordinary knights, even Commander Jere said he couldn''t see that guy''s machete technique.


    That much...


    ''Just when you think you hear the sound of a sword being drawn, you''ve already killed a demon.


    That''s already faster than the speed of sound, right?　How fast is that?


    I''ve done it myself, but that''s a hand cutoff if you''re not used to it. It''s just a normal mistake, and my hand was bleeding out of it.


    Yeah, I''ve done that before.


    I''ve never done this in this life, but I''ve done it many times in previous lives.


    I''m holding the scabbard down with my left hand, so if I miss the angle of the sword when I pull it out, I''ll usually end up slicing through my palm.


    ''It was too difficult for me to do, and besides, it''s usually faster to slash after you draw your sword. Liberto, and you, too. You guys are weird.


    That''s a terrible thing to say.


    But as expected, I don''t think it''s possible for him to perform a battling technique that can cross the sound barrier.


    That''s why the sub-commander''s skills are off the charts.


    But.....


    "Okay, well, let''s go home then, Eric.


    Hmm?　Yeah, I know.


    Christo says that and walks off in the direction of the city. I follow him as an escort, watching closely to see if there is any danger around.


    --How could someone so strong lose one arm?


    Don''t let that question go unspoken.


    We followed the city to the guild.


    At the gate, the knights confirmed that Christo had returned safely, so there would be no more knights coming to look for him because they were worried about him.


    I will report on the guild and the accomplishment of the request.


    Since this time it was a request to defeat them, you can bring as many materials for that target as you requested.


    Bring the orc''s nose part in a bag and hand it to the person in charge.


    Then have them check the materials and get the money as a reward for accomplishing the request. This time it was a very strong demon there, so I got enough money to spend a week without having to work.


    ''''Yes, Eric. Today''s reward.


    ''What?　What do you mean?


    Christo handed me a bag of money. Like it was my share of it all.


    ''What, you haven''t heard?　My reward for being an escort is that I get the reward I got from this guild.


    Oh, I see.


    Well, I hear you''ll get some more money a month, but I don''t know that much either.


    I heard that the knights of the Begonia Kingdom are paid pretty well. I haven''t been paid yet, but the old man said so. I don''t know the old man''s name yet.


    In addition, if you guard the prince, you can get it. I''m not particularly greedy from my past life, though, so it''s hard to know how to use it.


    You don''t get any Christo at all?


    Hmm?　Yeah, I don''t need to get this kind of money, I can tell your mother and I''ll get as much as I want.


    Christo smirks and says it as if it''s sarcasm.


    If you ask him, the words are sarcastic, but to me they come across as a little different.


    That means I don''t have any money to spend freely.


    After all, even if you are royalty, not being able to use the money when you want to is a bit cramped.


    If you don''t tell your parents every single time you don''t get the money, you probably have to tell them why, so you can''t spend it on anything regrettable at all.


    Well, the reason why I understood so much from what he said earlier is because of my experience in a previous life, or rather, because he said it.


    ''''Alright, Christo!　Let''s just go out for a drink with this money.


    ''What?　What are you talking about?


    As I recall, you can drink from the age of sixteen in this country. I''m barely old enough to drink.


    ''Fine, it''s my money, I can spend it on whatever I want.


    No, that''s fine, but we have to get back to it, don''t we?


    Well, if I don''t get back soon after the request, they''ll be worried about me and it might cause a bit of a stir.


    It''ll be okay for an hour or so.


    Ummm, no, I don''t think that''s a good idea.


    I said it too, and I knew that might be a long time.


    ''What, Christo. Are you afraid of being offended?


    ''Oh?　It''s not like that.


    So it''s a bit of a stretch.


    I know that it''s not really a good idea. If Christo doesn''t leave soon, the knights will come looking for him and cause him trouble.


    But at least it''s nice to have a bit of fun.


    --I want to go out for a drink to celebrate a reunion with my best friend who died in a previous life.


    Hm?　Oh, isn''t that Eric?


    I was talking outside the guild when I heard a voice calling out for me.


    I turned around and saw an old man approaching me.


    ''Are you on your way home from work too?''


    ''Oh, well, yeah. And the old man?


    ''Yeah, I''m on my way back to the dorms now for a change of guild guard duty.


    Oh, yeah, I got an idea.


    "Pops, we''re going out for a drink now, tell Yele that!


    What?


    I say to the old man, and then I grab Christo''s arm next to me and start running.


    ''Hey, are you sure you want to go?


    Of course!


    What, Prince Christopher?


    The old man is surprised to notice now. Well, at first glance, he''s dressed like an ordinary adventurer.


    ''''Then that''s what I''m talking about!　I''ve got it!


    Hey, Eric!　Wait!


    I can hear the old man calling out to me in the distance, but I don''t slow down and run through the city.


    I can no longer hear the old man''s voice and stop when I come to a row of bars.


    ''Now they won''t have to come looking for you. Well, he might be pissed off when we get back.


    Huh you''re a pretty bad guy.


    Christo says that with a sigh.


    But his face is smiling in a dumbfounded yet joyful way.


    ''We became friends, do you regret it?''


    No way. Eric, you are the best!


    Christo squares his shoulders as he jumps up and down. I laugh and squeeze my shoulders together as well, breaking my stance.


    ''Can''t help it!　I''ll keep you company, my bad friend, Eric!


    That''s the way it should be, Christo!


    So we walked into the bar and had a drink.


    For Christo, it was to celebrate making a friend for the first time.


    For me - to celebrate being able to drink like this again with a friend I hadn''t seen in a long time.