Erika: My Friend Is Obsessed with Me
Chapter 6
She didn’t even know what a mercenary was; she was just completely thrilled.
Back then, there was no one around to look on and stop them.
A Sword of the Empire from Tenearha, stooping to become a mere mercenary?
A man of high noble birth, joining a mercenary band—the exclusive domain of commoners?
Thoughts anyone would naturally have never crossed Pechenik’s mind, and Erica was too ignorant to have them at all.
The child was simply overjoyed by the sense of belonging, a feeling she was experiencing for the very first time.
Ever since leaving the count’s estate, she had been brimming with nothing but positive spirits.
She didn’t even feel the physical strain.
“Do your ankles hurt?”
“I can even run now.”
“You adapt quickly. Let’s stop by a blacksmith in the next village. I’ll need to double the weight of those iron bars.”
Building Erica’s physical strength was simple.
The thick steel shackles fastened around her wrists and ankles grew heavier by the day.
Anyone watching would have gasped in horror and called it abuse, but Pechenik believed this was the best method.
Erica ate a lot, ate more, and ate yet again.
She didn’t put on much weight, though. The intensity of her basic physical training was simply too high.
Even though she hadn’t touched a sword—let alone learned how to wield one—Erica faithfully obeyed everything her master told her to do.
For instance, when they camped out in the mountains.
Erica hung dangling upside down from a tall tree.
“Pull yourself up using your core. Don’t flap your arms around.”
Pechenik lay stretched out beside the campfire and yawned.
“Just do five hundred and then we’ll sleep. Wake me when you’re done.”
“All the blood is rushing to my head.”
“Then pull your upper body up so it won’t. I tied your legs securely, so you won’t sway.”
“If a pack of wolves comes, you’ll save me, right?”
“Now that sounds fun. Want me to go herd a few wild beasts over while you wait?”
“……Master, you’re a really bad person.”
With her legs bound to the tall tree, Erica diligently did her sit-ups.
Sweat poured down like rain.
For several months, she built only stamina and strength, and her progress was far from bad.
Even Pechenik, with his exacting standards, nodded in satisfaction at the speed of her growth.
Even after Erica’s stamina had grown considerably, Pechenik still didn’t teach her the sword.
He had her repeat simple unarmed combat movements hundreds and thousands of times.
To be honest, Erica found it boring.
No matter how hard she tried, she never developed thick muscles like Pechenik’s.
“When will I start getting strong?”
“Hm?”
“My forearms aren’t getting thick. Look. They’re way too thin. Am I just too slow?”
“No. You’re doing fine.”
Pechenik chuckled and ruffled Erica’s hair.
Though she didn’t gain bulk no matter how well he fed her, her deep-lying core muscles were already rock-solid, surpassing those of an adult.
The reason Erica was specialized in light, nimble movements was that Pechenik had trained her that way.
She was exceedingly solid, and fast.
There was no doubt she had been born with extraordinary physical aptitude.
“Do you remember your parents’ faces?”
“Pardon? P-P-Parents?!”
“Parents. The ones who sold you off to the count’s estate when you were no bigger than a mouse dropping.”
“Th-That… I don’t know. I was s-so young back then…….”
“I’d believe it if someone said your father was a Tenearha.”
“Yes……. Whaaaaat?!”
“I mean your innate talent is just that great. Seems I was lucky enough to pick up a truly remarkable rough diamond.”
It was praise, but Erica wanted to crawl into a mousehole and hide.
At a complete loss for what to do, she clenched and unclenched her hands, glancing this way and that.
Looking at that small head always brought Pechenik joy, to the point he couldn’t tell whether this was the fun of teaching a disciple or the delight of raising a daughter.
Pechenik and Erica traveled from village to village.
Along the way, they grew quite close, and a great deal of knowledge was shared between them.
In her spare time, she also learned to read and write.
“Ch… Cheese?”
“Passions. That word is read as passion.”
“Passion…….”
Erica was a fast learner.
“Passion……. The nobles involved in the crime of passion severed their ties to cut their losses.”
She picked up reading full sentences so quickly that even Pechenik was taken aback.
“I’d better show you books rather than cheap tabloids.”
When they stopped by a large city, they even visited a luxurious shop called a bookstore.
“These are books.”
Erica merely nodded.
Though she had learned how to read, she didn’t particularly enjoy reading.
Because it wasn’t fun.
Pechenik taught her that true romance meant always carrying a book of poetry in one’s pack, but Erica didn’t pay the slightest attention.
Instead, she listened only to Pechenik’s trivial stories.
“There’s a place called the Lekankan Great Jungle. It’s made up of dozens of forests, and at its center, in a place called the Illusionary Forest, there’s a terrifying…….”
Befitting someone of high noble birth, Pechenik possessed vast knowledge, and he was quite the chatterbox.
He generously shared countless tales with Erica.
Scratching illustrations into the dirt with a tree branch, he provided excellent visual aids.
“Look. This is the crest of the Temple, and if you draw a shield in the background like this… it becomes the crest of the Holy Knights.”
“Are the Holy Knights as strong as Tenearha?”
“Their abilities have many restrictions. I’ve never had a proper clash with them, but they’re certainly a step below Tenearha. Even so, you must show proper courtesy if you ever meet them.”
“How do I show courtesy?”
“Clasp your hands like this and repeat after me. May the mighty justice of God dwell within your righteous sword.”
“May the mighty justice of God dwell within your righteous sword.”
There was no need to read books.
To Erica, her master was a book, a bookstore, and a storehouse of knowledge far greater than the Imperial Palace Grand Library.
Every single day, that was more than enough.
Erica felt these days were far more than she deserved.
At times, she was so overwhelmed with emotion that tears secretly welled in her eyes.
Exactly one year after training began.
Erica held a sword for the very first time.
It was merely a wooden sword carved from timber, but a thrill coursed through Erica the moment she gripped the crude weapon.
“I feel like I’ve become a Swordmaster.”
“Stop talking nonsense; we’re starting. Watch me closely and follow along.”
“Yes!”
A sudden gust of wind whipped past, but that was all.
Pechenik stood completely still. There wasn’t the slightest twitch.
At least, that was how it looked to Erica’s eyes.
“Did you see that?”
“……?”
“Now try it.”
“Wh-What do I try?”
“Just do the same thing.”
“……Yes!”
Erica stayed completely still, just as he had.
Silence settled over them.
Pechenik furrowed his brow. Even after waiting a long while, Erica didn’t budge.
“What gives? Why aren’t you doing anything?”
“I’m staying still, just like you showed me, Master.”
“…….”
Only then did Pechenik sweep his blade through the air at roughly one-hundredth of his normal speed.
A slow, deliberate arc cut through the air.
“There. Did you see?”
“I saw it!”
“Repeat it five thousand times.”
“Five thousand times…… repeat!”
After five thousand repetitions, countless other movements followed.
Erica absorbed everything like a sponge, making the sword techniques entirely her own.
Some days the same drills repeated endlessly, while other days brought entirely new forms of training.
She had been bruised and bloodied back at the count’s estate as well, but back then, she had gained nothing from it.
Now, however, was different. With every injury and tumble she took each day, she grew without fail.
Torn ligaments and dislocated shoulders from the brutal training were routine, but just as the ground hardens after rain, she emerged stronger every time.
A day passed, then two, and several months went by like that.
Erica’s sword grew faster and faster.
Around the time she became able to deflect with her wooden sword a leaf Pechenik playfully flicked at her,
they stopped by a blacksmith’s weapon shop.
Entering the weapon shop, Erica’s heart thumped in her chest.
‘Am I finally graduating from this crude wooden sword?’
Was he going to buy her a solid, gleaming steel sword?!
Or so she thought, but Pechenik thrust a completely different weapon into her hands.
“This is where the real fun is.”
“This?”
“Hiding far away and attacking underhandedly is truly exhilarating.”
“……?”
Hearing that, it sounded pretty good too.
“I’m excited already.”
And so, she learned how to shoot a bow.
