I grabbed Elincia’s hands and dragged her into the manor, far from the guardsman’s prying ears. With the Stephaniss tournament just around the corner, the orphanage was about to enter the eye of the public. Until then, I would rather keep things private.

My initial assessment of Kellaren Odrac-Aias’s faction was wrong; he was no ordinary thief. Despite being unable to utilize the Aias name to back up his operations directly, he had a strong mercenary force. If I had to guess, he was employed directly by the Marquis; otherwise, he wouldn’t be allowed to have a paramilitary group within the city walls.

“You two took an awfully long time for a simple fetch quest,” Elincia scolded us as she led us to the kitchen.

The news about the tournament had visibly soured her mood.

“We stopped at a tavern,” Zaon said apologetically.

“Zaon had kompot,” I said as soon as Elincia’s questioning glance fell upon me.

Ilya, Wolf, and Firana were hanging in the warm kitchen. Ilya kept an eye on the stove while Wolf and Firana engaged in an arm-wrestling match on the table near the window. Firana’s muscles strained as he tried to move Wolf’s arm. Her face was redder than Zaon’s while dealing with the waitress at the tavern. Trying to beat Wolf proved to be an exercise in futility.

“Sorry for the delay, kids. We will start our training session soon,” I said as I greeted them.

Zaon put the burlap sack with the uniforms on the table, and the kids approached to inspect the contents. Meanwhile, I pulled the preserved fruit from my bag and gave it to Elincia.

Quest Complete!

The System prompt startled me. It was good to know the System Avatar was somewhere out there, but I was more worried about Elincia. I quickly dismissed the prompt and followed her to the kitchen counter, where she was inspecting the contents of each jar for any sign of fermentation.

The sweet smell of fruit reached my nose, but Elincia’s glance warned me enough to keep my hands to myself. When she was satisfied with the state of the fruit, she pulled a small scroll tied with a golden ribbon from her apron pocket and handed it to me. The broken seal showed the head of a wolf.

To the participants of the Stephaniss Cup,

By decree of the Royal Family, the Stephaniss tournament of swordsmanship and magic will commence one month after the winter solstice. The participants will abide by the following rules. Participants who fail to comply will be eliminated from the tournament.

* Each noble family can present up to three teams of up to four members.

* An additional member can be appointed as a reserve member.

* The participants must be at most LV10.

* Each member will fight one member of the opponent’s team.

* Tournament officials will provide equipment.

* Points will decide the winner of each fight. Hits in the head count as double points.

* The sum of the points of individual fights will decide the winning team.

* The tournament’s format will be double elimination.

* Any further information will be announced at a later date.

May this event stand as a testament to the martial prowess of our youth and serve as a beacon of inspiration for generations to come. Tauron of Farcrest, Marquis of Farcrest.

“I don’t see why this is bad news,” I said.

“Are you dumb or something?!” Elincia asked. “The kingdom’s most powerful families, including the royal family, will participate. It says there! We aren’t facing Farcrest’s hicks anymore; we are talking about the best-trained individuals in the kingdom!”

I wondered whether I was being overconfident. The educational practices in this world were laughable at best. The inhabitants of this world relied too much on the System and put little emphasis on personal effort. Even if nobody mentioned it, there was a significant proficiency gap among individuals of similar [Skills], like Zaon and Firana.

“I think we can do it. No matter who we face, we have to play to our strengths, like the nice lady at the tavern,” Zaon interrupted us, his voice full of confidence.

Zaon’s words carried more truth than I initially expected. If we played to our strengths, even Ilya, arguably the weakest link in the chain, could shine. She didn’t need to win, but to score enough points for the team. The format change fitted us like a glove, even if Elincia couldn’t see it yet.

“What nice lady are you talking about, Twig?” Firana asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Zaon instantly recoiled.

Elincia put a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Have you been exposing Zaon to booze and women?”

“He’s talking about the waitress that served him his kompot,” I quickly said.

Elincia gave me a suspicious glance but didn’t press the matter.

I reread the scroll, trying to memorize the rules. The difference in physical capabilities between a Lv.1 and a Lv.10 wasn’t particularly big. What worried me was the skills. My fight against Raudhan Kiln taught me that skills significantly closed the gap between a novice and a master fencer. Ultimately, [Longsword Mastery] would be our primary weapon, and the skills we could achieve along the way would work as support.

The first levels were the more dangerous ones. Unless we find a Slime nest near the southern edge of the Farlands, we will have trouble leveling up. Using the shotgun was always possible, but I would rather the kids get accustomed to using their own skills. Experience was more important than numbers; Zaon and Firana were proof enough. Both had Lv.2 [Longsword Mastery], and yet, Firana won reliably.

We had a month to think about strategy.

“What about we try on our uniforms?” I clapped my hands, catching the group’s attention.

Elincia’s eyes shone as the kids put on their jackets. The transformation was nothing but astonishing. Once ragged and hungry, they now flaunted the elegant blue and gray uniforms with the grace of a king's guard. Even Ilya, with her short stature and slender frame, stood with a poise I hadn’t seen before.

They gathered before us, adjusting the uniforms with a mix of excitement and nervousness. I couldn’t help but feel an almost uncontrollable surge of pride, knowing they had earned their skills with hard work. Suddenly, I felt at ease. We will show the nobles that the common folk also had more potential than they thought.

Elincia rested her head on my shoulder and smiled.

“I think we need a name. We can’t show up and be called the orphan team,” Firana jumped forward.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“What about Lowell’s Fencing Academy?” I asked. Honoring the creator of the orphanage sounded like a good idea to me.

Elincia laughed at a joke only she understood. “Mr. Lowell despised violence. That was one of the reasons he filled the orphanage with all kinds of crafters, researchers, and artists.”

I felt a bit guilty. We weren’t upholding Mr. Lowell’s legacy very well, at least in that regard.

“Rosebud Academy, then?” I mischievously asked, using the forbidden word.

The kids covered their smiles with their hands.

“I was leaning more towards Clarke Academy, as you are the true teacher here,” Elincia replied, not completely happy about my joke.

There was always an easy way to solve this kind of situation—direct democracy. I clapped my hands again, drawing the attention of the group. The chatter died almost instantly.

“Raise your hand if you want Clarke Fencing Academy as our official name,” I said with my best teacher’s voice.

Firana’s hand instantly shot up, followed by Wolf’s.

“Now, raise your hand if you think Rosebud Academy is a better name,” I said.

As expected, Zaon and Ilya raised their hands. Then, with a smug smile, I raised mine.

“Three votes against two. By popular demand, I declare the Rosebud Academy as officially founded!” I said.

New title acquired!

Headmaster: A title for those who have founded their own educational establishment and untapped the hidden potential of their students.

Class Reward: Greatly increases mana pool.

“Wait, no! I vote for Clarke Academy, then!” Elincia jumped forward before I could even focus on the prompt.

“I’m sorry, my love, but you are not part of the Rosebud Academy. You don’t get a vote. What’s more, Rosebud is a lovely name,” I replied, eliciting laughter from the kids.

“Rosebud is also a proud elven name. I think it fits,” Zaon pointed out in a vain attempt to improve Elincia’s mood.

“But Clarke sounds menacing, like a Killer Ant clicking its jaws,” Firana replied.

Firana’s sense of aesthetics was way off.

“We should’ve gone with Potato Warriors, but Mister Clarke likes Miss Elincia too much,” Wolf sighed.

The children engaged in a heated argument about my motivations behind the name election. The discussion, however, was short-lived because Elincia ordered them to take off their uniforms, so they wouldn’t get dirty, and sent them to get ready for the afternoon class. A moment later, we were left alone in the kitchen.

“You are going to pay for this,” Elincia jabbed at my shoulder.

“We will change the name if we come up with something better,” I replied. With the issues about the tournament settled, I focused on Ilya’s birthday. I still needed to prepare her birthday gift. “Can you help me string a bow?”

“Are you still trying to master the noble art of shooting?” Elincia asked.

“I might have bought a bow for Ilya’s birthday,” I replied.

As the word ‘bow’ came from my mouth, Elincia set the preserved fruit aside and fixed her attention on me. “ A bow? What style? What kind of wood? How many kilos of draw? How much did it cost?” Elincia bombarded me with a barrage of questions.

“I don’t know… it’s a bow,” I said, opening my arms. “Like this big?”

Elincia facepalmed. “Let’s see it, but if you got scammed for buying without consulting me, I’m getting mad.”

I retrieved the bow from my bedroom and met Elincia at the groove by the edge of the manor’s grounds. Elincia had swapped her usual dress for her adventurer’s breeches and wide-sleeve shoulderless blouse. A quiver of arrows dangled from her waist. It has been a while since I had seen that side of Elincia.

Elincia took the bow from my hands and examined it.

“Not too shabby, not too shabby,” she examined the curvature of the wood with a critical eye. What she was looking for was a mystery to me, but I trusted her judgment. When she put the bow down, she gave me a satisfied nod. “It’s on the big side for a gnome, but it might be for the better. I want Ilya to get used to heavy draws early.”

Then, Elincia started stringing the bow.

“How did archers hit anything in your world? Without Classes and Skills, I mean,” she asked as she worked.

I used [Minor Illusion] to replicate a volley of English archers against a unit of French infantry stuck in the mud, just as I had seen in a documentary once. Elincia leaned on the illusion and examined the soldiers.

“That’s on the heavy side for a no-classer, not bad,” She nodded approvingly. I wondered how she knew about the specs of the bows with a simple glance. It might have something to do with the size and distance.

“If you shoot at a clump of enemies with a clump of archers, you are bound to hit some of the shots,” I replied.

I wondered if I should show her a modern composite bow. Even if Archery wasn’t one of my favorite Olympic sports, the fact competitors shot a twelve-centimeter target at seventy meters was beyond amazing. I decided not to, for the moment. Showing Elincia a toy she couldn’t get sounded a bit cruel to me.

“Looks nice, isn’t it?” Elincia smiled. With the string on, the Cooldown Bow had an elegant curvature enhanced by the dark wood. “How much did you pay for it?”

The right moment to tell Elincia the bow was, in fact, enchanted had long passed. Before I could answer, Elincia masterfully drew an arrow from her quiver and pulled back the string. A confused expression appeared on her face. It was too late.

“I swear I put more tension on the string,” she said.

Then, she let go. The arrow whistled through the groove and buried into a tree thirty meters away from us. Elincia nodded approvingly as she drew a second arrow; however, the string didn’t budge when she nocked it.

“What?” Elincia said as she strained her back muscles to draw back the arrow.

“It’s an enchanted bow. The longer you pull the string back, the more powerful the shot is,” I said. “You have to wait for the cooldown afterward.”

Elincia remained silent until she could pull the string again. She aimed at the tree, holding the position for what felt like an eternity. Then, she waited a little more before letting the string go. Luckily, there was no sonic boom, just a high-pitched whistle. As the arrow hit the tree, a small explosion of bark and wood created a cascade of debris. It left a hole the size of a small fist around the impact point.

“Do you think Ilya will like it?” I cautiously asked. The bow was far from a toy.

“Rob…” Elincia turned around, her face dead serious. “This is the best gift a teenage girl could hope for. Ilya will be thrilled.”

I wasn’t sure if Elincia was in touch with a teenage girl’s tastes, but her joyful expression convinced me it was a good gift.

“This is an assassin’s tool,” Elincia explained while the bow recharged. “Usually, the heavier the draw weight is, the harder to aim a bow is. The heavier the arrow, the shorter the range. This abomination fixes both problems. You can send a heavy, armor-piercing arrow from really far away with an easy aim.”

As the bow 'cooled down', we approached the target tree. Elincia gave a strong tug to the arrow, but it didn’t budge. She used both hands, and the shaft separated from the head, making her stumble back. No matter how much she struggled, the head of the arrow remained firmly embedded in the wood.

“I guess it could work against big monsters, too,” Elincia panted, giving up on recovering the arrowhead. “Arrow damage caps most archery skills, so attacking a big monster with a bow is like using toothpicks against a bull.”

“Then I will have to make one for you,” I jokingly said.

“Can you?!” Elincia turned around and threw her arms around my neck.

“It will take me a while. The number of runes in the Cooldown Bow is alarming,” I quickly replied. “Currently, I can use one rune at a time, and not all that well.”

Elincia looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“If I give you a certain photo, will it speed things up?” She asked

“I don’t think so,” I laughed. “I’m struggling with the runes as it is; plus, I want to focus on training the kids and helping Ginz to craft a usable steam engine. But don’t worry, I’ll get to it eventually.”

Elincia nodded with a broad smile and looked over my shoulder.

“Your class is getting ready around the big stump,” Elincia said. “I’ll, uh… try to dislodge this arrowhead for a moment here.”

I kissed Elincia on the forehead and turned around. I'd have to let her have some fun with the bow before it passed to Ilya. “Eli, can you test the cooldown times for me? So you can explain how it works to Ilya tomorrow?”

“Giving me the hard work, I see,” Elincia replied, but she couldn't mask the smile on her face.