50 – Sweet Goodness

Contrary to my apprehensions, the day passed quickly and painlessly.

Of the thirteen manor staff – not counting Mia – I’d already interviewed four in Lily, Mathew, Hana and Margret. That left just four maids and five servants to go, one of each had claimed literacy.

Despite my increased scrutiny, I didn’t find any signs of further spies among their number. Of course, the two I paid special attention to were those who could read, but even they were cleared of suspicion. According to what they told me, the maid’s mother was a midwife – one of the few literate people in town – and had taught her growing up. Meanwhile, the servant had considered becoming a priest when he was young and received lessons from Tristan’s predecessor.

Both passed my much less aggressive test without issue.

The only other noteworthy outlier among non-combat staff was the cook. Considering his important job and the unusual requests I would probably task him with in future, he got a two copper raise instead of the normal one.

With all but the guards done with interviews, I still had some time left. So, I also spoke to the two men-at-arms that claimed to be literate.

Neither of these men were spies, fortunately. One of them though, the man who’d been nervous back during the announcement, could barely read at all. Writing was out of the picture entirely.

“Unfortunately,” I told him, “you do not pass the test. While being able to partially read is better than not at all, it isn’t enough to qualify you for the corresponding raise. The good news is that you can probably make up for this much faster than everyone else if you put your mind to it. When you’ve improved, you can come take the test again.”

“Yes, Lord Steelheart.” The man let out the breath he was holding. He’d started sweating quite a bit once the test began, so the relief at not failing permanently was easy to read. I sent him off with the standard pay raise for now.

All staff and the most likely spy candidates interviewed, I had Mia bring Mathew back again. I had some good news for him and told him as such.

“No one else was too interested in the position of gardener, so you’re now officially promoted. From now, the state of all the greenery around the manor is in your hands. With this new responsibility comes another pay raise of one copper a day. Do your best.”

“Yes, Lord Steelheart! Thank you for the opportunity. Is there anything in particular you want me to do? We’re close to winter, so planting new things is currently not ideal.” He looked enthusiastic, reinforced by his heart beating excitedly. Apparently Mathew really wanted to work with plants. Or it’s the pay raise. Who knows?

“There is actually something I need from you. Feel free to get others to help you if necessary, since I’d like this task done as soon as possible.”

“What is it?”

“I was getting to it. Directly east of the manor, in the small patch of untamed forest that was once called a garden, there is a fruit tree. Go see for yourself after we’re done here, you’ll know it when you see it. What I want from you for now is to clear a path from the manor to that tree. Also, please collect some of the fallen fruit and give them to the cook. I’m sure he can make some good things from them.”

That last part was addressed as much at Mia as at Mathew. I really wanted to see what proper preparation would do to the flavor of those peach-apples. Maybe we could even get started on the idea of fruit wine I had a few days ago.

Mainly this was a test to see how well the fruit’s mana handled being cooked or otherwise processed. Also, it might be a good idea to have the people working here eat some of the fruit, since it might improve their blood’s richness. Though that was a selfish thought I quickly suppressed.

“I’ll see to it, Lord Steelheart,” Mathew nodded eagerly.

After that, our meeting ended quickly. I was already looking forward to not having to force my way through the brush every time I wanted to visit the tree or mana well.

Now all that was left were – I did some quick math – twenty guard interviews. Ugh. As much as they were individually not too long, that would still take several more hours. It was already afternoon, so I didn’t feel like continuing for today. Especially since I’d skipped lunch.

Well, normal lunch. I had my fill of blood from all the interviews so I wasn’t actually hungry – hadn’t been in a few days, to be honest – but mundane food still held its own charm. I was especially looking forward to what the cook would create with fresh peach-apples.

Before that though, I met up with Lars in the entrance hall again. Unlike before, he was holding a long, straight piece of narrow wood, about as tall as him. The staff wasn’t decorated or fancy, but the craftsmanship was good even to my untrained eye. Whatever wood it was made of was a nice shade of dark brown.

Not that I immediately began learning how to use a staff, no. First it was time for warm-up exercises again.

As far as I could tell, my strength hadn’t changed much over the last week. It might be growing a little, but any improvement in that field was pretty marginal.

In contrast, my growing level of grace was amazing. Already I’d exceeded anything I could have imagined being capable of in my previous life.

Handstand? Easy. I could even do it with one hand if I tried. Cartwheels were effortless once I overcame my initial hesitation. More than just touching my toes, I could put my hands against the floor entirely while keeping my legs perfectly straight. Various other stretches weren’t an issue either.

Honestly I wasn’t sure how much of this improvement was owed to my continuous strengthening compared to me simply overcoming my mental limits and getting used to my new body.

It was exhilarating. Moving however I wanted with my body actually keeping up stirred a primal satisfaction. When Lars called out that I was done, I was grinning from ear to ear.

“Those are some impressive movements for a relative beginner.” The praise was unexpected, but welcome nonetheless.

“Thank you. Are we starting on staff lessons today?”

“Yes. From now on, we will have hand-to-hand training in the mornings and staff combat in the evening. I don’t want you slacking in either one though, got it?”

“Yes, instructor!” I laughed. Lars looked a bit taken aback at the term, but nodded after a moment of inaction.

Tossing me a second staff of similar make as the one in his own hands, the knight dropped into a stance. Legs slightly bent, about shoulder width apart. Staff held diagonally in front of him. I did my best to copy it.

“What is the greatest advantage of a weapon like the staff or spear?” Lars asked.

“Reach?”

“Correct. This is a bit more pronounced with a spear, but the staff is also able to attack beyond many shorter weapons’ range.”

With a smooth motion, he swung towards me. At the last moment, his grip shifted towards the far end. As a result, the staff’s tip stopped only a hand’s breadth or so from my face, even though we were over two meters apart. Displaced air ruffled my hair.

“Varying your range is an important skill to learn if you want to use the staff’s full potential. Besides far-reaching strikes, you also need to know how to adapt when an enemy gets within your reach. That is where a spear loses some effectiveness, due to only having a tip at the end. Likewise in cramped confines. Remember, any part of a staff is dangerous in skilled hands.”

Pulling back, Lars demonstrated a quick series of strikes, flowing seamlessly from one to the next. He used both ends to strike from different angles in sequence, keeping up his offensive on an imaginary enemy. It was mesmerizing to watch. I was pretty sure I would be helplessly pummeled black and blue if I was the target.

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“For now though, you will work on the basics.” So saying, I was guided through various basic strikes, steps and blocks.

“One disadvantage of a weapon like this is the lack of a hand guard. Always be aware of that when defending, or you might lose a finger to an unlucky blow. Or worse.”

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the session ended. It had to have been several hours though, since Mia was waiting for me impatiently in the doorway.

Walking through the corridors, I realized it was dark outside.

Wow, I got really absorbed there. It was fun though. And interesting. I was looking forward to tomorrow evening already.

The reason for Mia’s impatience was quickly revealed as we entered the dining room. I could smell the sweet scent from far away, but up close it was even better. Waiting for me was the cook, who had prepared a veritable feast.

He’d obviously taken my request to try out the peach-apples very seriously, since there were several different dishes with them as a large component.

A steak with a glaze-like sauce, sweet dumplings stuffed with diced fruit, a peach-apple and nut pie, all followed up with a dessert of caramelized fruit slices. It took all my willpower not to start drooling all over myself.

Sitting down, I noticed it was quite a lot of food over all. While I could probably eat most of this on my own if I put some effort in, that felt like a waste. Even my physiology wouldn’t stop me regretting that amount of overeating later. Instead of following my desires and tucking in, I instead turned to Mia.

“Please get Theodore and Lars. I’m sure they’d appreciate this as well.”