I Reincarnated as a Shinai

"Stella, this is Calliope. She's one of my colleagues when I was still an Apprentice Knight."

Diether introduced Calliope as they boarded the carriage. Stella already heard about this girl from Rufus when Diether picked her up in the Arcanist Tower. 

They greeted each other and became easily comfortable with each other. Diether and Rufus were impressed by this as they decided to chat while they are traveling.

The one driving the carriage is, of course, Rufus. He's not new to this at all. As a matter of fact, he had recently improved the carriage's wheel so he wanted to try it. This is to make sure that their ride will be comfortable on this rocky road. 

"Stella, I heard from Diether that all of you are practicing Kendo. Do you think I can learn it as well?" Calliope asked. 

"Hmm… It will be the Master's decision who to teach. However, I know that Master wanted to spread the Art of Kendo, and actually, he didn't mention that we can't have our own disciples… But I'm sure you don't want to be just Diether's disciple, right? You can ask our Master later on." Stella replied as she looked at Diether.

"Hmm… It would be great if I could learn it as well. I'm also practicing a secret sword art, I hope I can offer it in exchange for learning."

"Oh? An exchange? I see."

"Yeah… How about you guys? What did you do to become his disciple? How much are you paying to teach you? It's not for free, right?" Calliope asked seriously. 

"This…"

"Uhmmm…"

"Y-yeah."

The three couldn't answer immediately since they didn't pay a single coin to their master at all.

However, Calliope saw it differently and immediately added.

"Aahh! I was insensitive. I'm sorry for asking such a question. I know that those things are supposedly your secrets. Just forget about it."

"It's not like that, Lippe." 

"Yeah… I just realized I didn't do much for Master Reiji, that's all."

"Me too. He just gave me some tasks to do." 

Diether, Stella, and Rufus explained.

"Oh? Is it some kind of assassination mission?" Calliope asked. The three didn't know whether she was joking or not. But anyway, they decided to share some of the things they did for their master.

"Well, it's nothing really difficult. I think our Master just wanted to get stronger as well. He would somethings ask for blood and even Arcana." Stella explained.

"That's true, aside from practicing Kendo from time to time, he would also ask to be held for a long time. It seems that he might be trying to monitor our bodies. And like what Stella said, master indeed likes blood. It doesn't matter whether they are from humans or beasts, he would take it. But I don't think it's because he enjoys it. It feels like it's necessary for him to regain his strength."

Diether added.

"Hmm… In my case, I became Master Reiji's student because he was kind enough to help me in my situation. So I think that he's not really looking for someone that would benefit him. Instead, he's looking for different qualifications that he only knows. Aside from that, I only did a few things for Master Reiji."

Rufus said as he recalled how he met Reiji.

As they chatted for a while, they finally reached the place where Reiji's new Sword Slaves are waiting.

"Werewolves!" Stella recognized their aura as they immediately went out to check.

At first, they thought that they are being ambushed. They pulled out their weapons and Rufus is even about to release the arrow in his bow. 

"Wait!"

Diether shouted after noticing the lack of killing intent. Aside from that, he doesn't have experience against Werewolves so he's only seeing them as normal humans at the moment. 

But Stella is different, she fought against them many times and she knows Werewolves are unreasonable creatures that would tear apart any humans they saw. 

"They are bad news, Diether. I've seen enough werewolves and they are all evil. You don't want to make a deal with them. Once the moon comes up, anything you discussed with them will be forgotten and they will bite your back." Calliope warned.

As she lived in Losea Kingdom during her childhood, she had encountered werewolves several times and heard so many stories from the Knights in their manor.

Diether wanted to say something but before he could do that, the Werewolves in the human form already spoke. 

"Are you guys Diether, Rufus, and Stella?"

"That's right…" Rufus answered as he felt something about them.

"Great! I'm Jacob, I'm one of Master Reiji's new servants. It's the same for the others with me. We are here to guide you..." Jacob said as he spread his hand to introduce the other human-form werewolves with him.

A total of eight werewolves showed themselves as they blocked the road.

The four in the carriage looked at each other as they finally heaved a sigh of relief. Although they aren't expecting to have a very smooth journey within the Chaotic Land, they still thought that it is still too early to have a fight against the creatures living here.

"Right… Master Reiji mentioned he'll send someone out. It must be you guys." Diether said as he also noticed the weird mounts they have. 

Rufus also curiously looked at the golems but didn't ask about it for now. 

He knows that there is a right time and place for asking such questions.

It didn't take long before the two parties agreed to travel together as the Werewolves moved in front while their carriage follows behind.

Since they are still a bit cautious around them, they have decided to limit their conversation for now. Anyway, they can also feel the rough direction of their master so they will know if they are being brought somewhere else or not. 

"So these guys can transform into Werewolves at night?" Diether asked in a whisper.

"It doesn't have to be night. They just get stronger and crazier at night… I heard that they are followers of the Moon Deity." Stella said recalling what she learned from Lyrei.

"Right, that Deity was known to cause insanity to people. So it's not that surprising." Calliope added.

Diether nodded in understanding. 

A few hours passed peacefully before they suddenly heard the ground shaking!

"Forest Rats! There's a swarm of them! We have to fight!" Rufus shouted as he saw the black swarm coming at them really fast!