"Well that was a tad uncalled for." I stated.

When I said that the girl scrunched up her face and just stared even harder at me. The boy gave one of the most tired sighs I've ever heard and literally facepalmed. I guess some gestures end up being universal, no matter where you end up.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" the angry older sister began "We've been here all of a week and barely had any physical training, nor any form, stance, or technique classes!"

Now I had no idea what she was on about, nor where she was trying to go with this, but I could definitely tell she was trying to work herself up to an argument with me. One I was not prepared for in the slightest. Caught a little off guard I scrambled to think of a generic way I could diffuse the situation.

"I'm.. sorry?" Unfortunately, I came up blank and even as I said it, I knew this was not going to go well. I winced before she even began responding. This seemed like it was about to be very cliché.

"Sorry? You're... sorry?" she started, and as she did her eyebrows shot up into the bangs of her hair "Will, trust me when I say you're not nearly as sorry as you will be once I'm done! I believe this calls for a letter to your parents just to start with! I told your parents I would watch your back while we're here just like you told mine! How am I supposed to do that if you sneak off and challenge an actual squire before you even know what end of a sword to hold!"

She was real worked up alright. I had done nothing to ease the situation. Definitely giving my delayed translation here a run for its money. This is the most anyone has spoken to me since I woke up. And hey, I'm getting pivotal information here! This girl apparently knew me before I came to here, and even knew my parents. Definitely need to stick close to her and most likely this boy as well. Time to commit their faces to memory for sure. Speaking of the boy, looks like he might help! He reached out and gently pats the girl on the shoulder.

"Bea, calm down. You need to at least hear him out. Will may have an excellent reason for speaking to the squire and sparring with him. Or he may have obtained some insight and learned something significant! We won't know until we give him a chance to speak."

What a guy random boy! You tell her! I'm definitely going to learn your name for coming to my defense! And for letting her name drop, so useful! See, the smack upside the head was totally unwarranted! I sat up and began nodding my head to his logic. He's clearly the thinker of this group.

Bea took a deep calming breath, stood up straight, and closed here eyes. "You know what Tom, you're right."

And now I have the name of my savior! This is all going according to keikaku! I'll have this place figured out in no time! We'll get this sorted out in no time and I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do with my life.

Bea's eyes snapped open and looked at me with a twinkle. I realized at this moment, I was in danger. I just felt the dread as Bea started up again.

"So, Will, why don't you tell us of your grand plan as to why you decided to speak to a squire let alone ask him to spar with you? You should know at minimum he likely has ten times your mana, right?" Bea finished.

Well, she really has me there. Tom actually gave me a smile and shot me a thumbs up. Oh if only I was faster on my feet. My savior set me up grandly but I did not yet know enough to complete the plan. There was so much in that question new to me that I didn't even know where to begin.

First, why is this squire like a sacred thing they keep putting on a pedestal? If they are talking about that Samuel kid from when I woke up, he looked like he was 18 at the latest, no way he has done enough for such reverence.

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Second, ten times my mana? I knew mana was a thing in video games from back home, so.... magic is a thing here? Oh, well, duh. That puts one of my earliest conversations here into context. The priest guy was going to "cast some healing" or something like that on me. This is amazing! Going to be a total game changer for life here! I was thinking I was just stuck in a medieval period here, but it actually looks like I am stuck in a fantasy setting! Does this mean I get to eventually learn the stuff and cast the famous magic missile? Fireball? Lightning bolt? Oh my gosh this world is going to be amazi....

"Will?" Bea startled me out of my thoughts.

Ahhh, I definitely got carried away there. Let's get through this first, and daydream later. I paused another second to recollect what she had said in her question so I could try to seem somewhat knowledgeable. Maybe I could try to deflect a bit here since she asked a second question.

"Uhm, yeah, of course I knew he had about ten times my mana. That would only to be expected. And hey, he even introduced me to a priest! All in all it was a very productive session! But hey, enough about me and my adventures! What have you two been up to? Spill the secrets!"

There. Masterfully crafted in what short time I had available for sure. People love talking about themselves, especially kids! This will be water under the bridge in no time. I could even see... Tom nodding his head and gearing up to take over. Bro code exists even in another world! Bea however was not buying it, she just squinted and began glaring at me again. I hope this is not a childhood sweetheart scenario or I will be in so much trouble.

"Actually, we.." Tom tried, but Bea promptly cut him off before he could get underway.

"No, Tom, wait. And why did he need to introduce you to a priest Will? A priest being someone who has equal standing to a full knight, that a squire would normally report to." Bea asked.

Ooof, she was an observant one. Also, yay for more information. This time it was local hierarchy. Surely to be useful in formation in the future, but...this was definitely going to be a challenge. Ya know, for just being some teenagers asking questions, I sure am sweating over here. Ahhh, well yeah, I have a teenage body myself, it hasn't had the time to adapt to these types of situations. I should definitely be playing this a lot cooler. You know what, forget it. Honesty is the best policy at this point. And truth be told, my honest answers shouldn't be too bad.

Right?

"Well, you see....." I paused, and sighed. Surely the dramatic effect here would win her over. "Honestly I needed some healing from the priest. It seems my spar with the squire did not go as well as I had hoped."

There, that's literally all I knew about the situation. I am sure the sincerity would come through and score some points with Bea. Speaking of...

She was just staring at me. Queue the intense sweating again. Even Tom was kind of cringing back to see if she exploded on me. But Bea, just slumped and sighed. Her face relaxed and she patted my head. This all seems to be a good sign! I knew I still had it in me.

"Well of course dummy, that would be expected. At least it seems it was nothing serious and nothing was broke, despite you sleeping all day. Missing lunch and dinner? I would honestly not like to be in your shoes right now. So, what did you at least learn from the squire? I am sure he gave you all kinds of pointers despite you wasting his time."

I knew Bea had it in her! De-escalation success! Looks like I navigated these waters just fine! Tom was in the background shooting me another thumbs up. Everything was golden now, we could hopefully move on shortly.

"Truthfully I can't remember a thing! I feel like the first thing I remember from today is just waking up to being healed by the priest! Crazy right?" I finished with a big smile on my face. No lies, 100% truth!

"So you missed two of our physical training classes, lunch and dinner.... for.... nothing? Nothing at all?" Bea asked as her voice rose throughout the question.

Ahhh, maybe I did not get off quite scot-free? Tom was back to staring with big, worried eyes as our conversation progressed. I should have paid closer attention. When Bea finished her question he facepalmed again. I thought I had been doing so good too!

Bea quickly reached out and snatched my ear. She actually moved very fast catching me completely off guard.

"Listen here, I won't write your parents on this, since with all you missed that should be enough punishment..... but I need you to stop with your schemes! We left to become squires and better our and our parents lives! Not get big-headed and play hero, got me?" as Bea angrily finished she threw me and my ear free, which I immediately started rubbing. She had a grip like a vise!

"Argh, yes ma'am. I promise!" was all I could say at this point, I just needed it to end so I could dig for some more information about the situation here.

THWACK

"Good, and don't ma'am me!" Bea finished. Even in another world, women get to have the last word huh?