Eliza chapter 30 – First time training with Instructor Claudia

Earl Terejia has approved of my plan to deal with the fire moths. Wooden pipes containing salt water would be issued, and a civil militia would be set up.

Since there wasn’t enough salt water for everyone, we also distributed wooden pipes with poisons that would work on the fire moths. We also made sure to add sand into the salt water to make sure that the villagers wouldn’t try and use the salt water for their personal use. There was also the fact that we discovered fine grains would solidify the moth scales during the experiment in the garden. However, we weren’t able to find something that would replicate the effect of salt dissolving the wings and causing holes in them.

Since there were more fire moths than could be taken care of by people, I used the idea of pesticides from my previous life, and instructed the villagers to spray salt water around the fields and near the entrances to the forests, so that the fire moths wouldn’t go near the crops. I also made sure to inform the villagers not to spray salt water on the crops themselves, as that would ruin them. Although I don’t remember the details, I do seem to vaguely remember that spraying salt on fields isn’t good for the crops.

“I’ve received my first task from the earl! Starting today, you’re going to be learning the spear from me, Elida-dono!”

“It’s Eliza, Claudia-dono.”

I had just finished the plans on dealing with the fire moths, and was working on documents regarding transporting the necessary goods to the villages, when I was ambushed by Claudia, and I was forced to stop working. Well, these documents have to be completed by the day after tomorrow, even though this is something that the earl asked me to do, I don’t absolutely have to finish them today. After all, refusals never get through to Claudia. Since it’s useless, I’ve learned not to waste my energy struggling.

“Ahh, my apologies. Then, Eliza-dono, let’s go to the training grounds!”

Claudia grabbed my wrist, and started dragging me around while humming.

“The training grounds? For the soldiers?”

“Yep.”

“I have a different training ground from the soldiers. Since there’s a wide empty space behind the house, I use that.”

Normally Claudia would forcibly use the soldiers’ training grounds and play there, but I don’t go there. After my three months of training concluded, I haven’t been back to the barracks or their training grounds. That’s because I’ve had to either show up in front of the citizens of my domain, or accompany nobles lately. With my own soldiers’ negative feelings towards me, I had to placate them, and get them used to me. I should have cultivated my relationship with the soldiers more, but after leaving the barracks, but considering my position, I haven’t been able to go back to the barracks.

“……I see. I wanted to show you the growth of that child entrusted to me.”

Even Claudia knew at least some common sense as a noble, and she nodded meekly. She doesn’t completely lack common sense, now I know she’s not completely unmanageable. As a house guest that’s entering my domain’s army, we’ve allowed her to freely go in and out of the barracks and use the training grounds there as she liked.

“Ratoka, eh.”

“Yes, Gunther said he’s finally beginning the food gathering for himself this afternoon.”

At the same time that Claudia joined the army, Ratoka was placed as a soldier in training at the barracks, and he’s now going through the exact same basic training that I did. That is, getting beaten up all morning by Gunther, polishing tools and cleaning with the other soldiers in training until noon, and doing an endless amount of marching training after lunch. After that, he would have to forage for his own dinner by himself.

“I’ve never hunted before until I came here, but it’s really so fun! The food I catch myself tastes amazingly delicious.”

Claudia seems to be getting excited over some memories about hunting. I felt a sense of danger, so I gently tried to pry Claudia’s hand off my wrist. She didn’t budge.

“When I first went up against large beasts with my spear, I realized for the first time that this was indeed different from practice! In order to outmaneuver and defeat enemies with hostile intentions, I must train my intuition!!”

As she shouted and rose her fist to the sky in a display of her determination, Claudia seemed to be sparkling. Probably without realizing it, her other hand was also raising mine to the sky and she was using all her strength to grip me with.

It hurts. Someone, please save me.

“Since that’s been decided, Eliza-dono, let’s immediately go do some special training behind the mansion!”

I don’t know if it’s in answer to my wish, but Rashiok who was taking a walk nearby, approached Claudia and gently nudged her back with his front foot.

“Noo, it’s an enemy attack!!”

She performed a splendid high roundhouse kick, and I could even hear the sound it made in the air. Although Rashiok was able to duck it, if it had been anyone else from the mansion they probably would have taken a direct hit. Well, since nobody was behind Rashiok, luckily that kick didn’t blow anyone’s head away.

“……Oh, Rashiok! I’m so sorry!!”

Claudia hurriedly began apologizing to Rashiok, and was breathing hard, and Rashiok met my eyes as if to say, really? This took Claudia about five minutes or so.

 

Finally, with Rashiok coming along as well, the spear training behind the mansion began.

Claudia had regained her composure on our way here, and with a very calm expression, she began teaching me the advantages and features of the spear.

“Although the sword is basically the main weapon for nobles, in actual battles nobles use spears more often. Do you know why?”

“Since the sword is required for ceremonies and rituals, nobles are taught ceremonial swordsmanship. However, in actual battles, the spear has longer reach, and being a two-handed weapon, the spear is more advantageous than the sword.”

“Yep, that’s it. Now that chain mail is the main type of armor, swords are rather useless. You have to pierce through it. For that, the spear is more suited to the task due to its shape. Of course, the difference in reach is critical in actual combat as well. When attacking from horseback, swords can be blocked even by helmets.”

I felt strange at seeing Claudia actually being serious, and nodded. It seems that there’s going to be a very high possibility of me actually being in battle in the future. Since I’ll be riding, I want longer reach.

“First, you’ll have to remember the feeling of manipulating a rod-shaped weapon. Gunther’s spear practice probably only focused on thrusting the spear.”

For infantry with no knowledge of martial arts, they would only receive training on standing in formation and thrusting the spears for basic training. However, since I’m a commander, Claudia said that I need to truly master the spear and be able to use it for self-defense.

I nodded at Claudia again. Since this has to do with improving my odds of survival, I’m going to take this seriously and learn the best I can.

“Then, start with your form.”

“Yes!”

Although I gave a spirited reply, three hours later I was regretting it slightly.

When Claudia said to start with my form, she didn’t mean to start with the basic training that Gunther had me do before. The proper form was completely different from what I had been doing up until now, and that one word before training started was the only word I was able to get in, I was almost mentally exhausted to the point of being unable to speak.

With three hours of practice swinging, my training concluded for today.

……I had been slightly excited to learn martial arts seriously for the first time today, but my inner child was fully exhausted, crushed, and thrown away somewhere.

End of Act 1, Part 2

40 responses to “Eliza chapter 30 – First time training with Instructor Claudia

  1. Isn’t pouring salt on fields a terrible thing to do? I mean doesn’t pouring salt on ground prevent plants (and therefor crops) from growing?

    Liked by 3 people

    • Yup enemy empires used to plow salt into fertile fields to kill their crop production so that the just defeated enemy wouldn’t be able to fight back to quickly. (and hopefully starve to death. 2 birds 1 stone thing and all)

      Liked by 1 person

    • They mentioned pouring it around the outskirts of the fields, not on the fields. The method is to create a barrier of entry against the moths. That said, I could have read it wrong and she might have just killed countless harvests by sowing salt~ I doubt any sensible person there would allow that to happen, so I’m assuming it’s the first one.

      Liked by 3 people

    • Actually, I’m studying soil science and fields can become too salty just from irrigation water if you live in an arid region. It accumulates over time. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case where they are at because it isn’t that dry. So if there is enough rain to wash away the small amounts of salt they are using, it probably won’t become a problem.

      Liked by 4 people

    • “”I also made sure to inform the villagers not to spray salt water on the crops themselves, as that would ruin them. Although I don’t remember the details, I do seem to vaguely remember that spraying salt on fields isn’t good for the crops.””

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Thanks for the chapter 😀
    When Charlie was hunting, she stated that she shouldn’t go to far because it was dangerous.
    I get the feeling that Ratoka is gonna do that and will be in danger.
    And then, Eliza will arrive to save her.
    And then Ratoka will become a tsundere 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Pingback: Eliza – I reincarnated as a noble girl villainess, but why did it turn out this way…… | Omega Harem Translations·

  4. Eliza… I see you as this solemn incomprehensible robot doll to the people around you….
    AND YOU’RE STILL ADORABLE!!!!!!
    *squees and glomps on to Eliza*
    *is heartlessly kicked away*
    *flies into the air like Team Rocket*
    *brightly gleams once in the distance*

    Thanks so much for all your hard work imperfectluck~~~~

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  5. Science and biology fail of author. Salt is most deadly to plants of all things. If you sprayed salt water on fields, you would be killing your crops. Hence the term “salt the earth” as a way to damage opponents land long term.

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  6. We also made sure to add sand into the salt water to make sure that the villagers wouldn’t try and use the salt water for their personal use.

    I rest my case from ch 17. The people in this world are inconsiderately stupid.

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  7. Since the part about salt usage seems to be one of the parts people complained about the most, I tried to have a look at the raws myself (though I’m relying on machine translations). I’ve noticed that the content there seems to be very different from what’s here (as in, even the sentence numbers are different), so I guess the author later changed that? It now reads as something like:

    “I gave instructions to apply pesticides once the number of moths exceed the number of fingers on one hand, to capture them if they are in fields or forests, [part I don’t get]. Pesticides damage the plants, I added as an supplement.” (from my very rough understanding of MTL)

    I don’t know why people are complaining so much though. Eliza obviously proceeds by experimentation instead of just applying past-life ideas unilaterally, so if problems arise, she’d have stopped the policy immediately.

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    • By the way, this was the chapter that taught me that all the stuff about swords in fantasy was wrong. T_T I google’d it up afterwards, and spears really Were much preferred over swords on the battlefield, for reasons of reach, ease of learning, and plain economy (pointy metal on a stick).

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    • I finally got around to taking a look at the raws and changed the lines about salt in this chapter. They definitely seem different from what I remember reading the first time, I guess both me and the author learned some biology lessons from readers xD

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      • Yay! b ^_^ d And yes, the author probably fixed that later, I doubt you’d have skipped an entire sentence. I think it’s a good thing that the author deigned to fix things, honestly. 😀

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  8. “Since the sword is required for ceremonies and rituals, nobles are taught ceremonial swordsmanship. However, in actual battles, the spear has longer reach, and being a two-handed weapon, the spear is more advantageous than the sword.”

    “Yep, that’s it. Now that chain mail is the main type of armor, swords are rather useless. You have to pierce through it. For that, the spear is more suited to the task due to its shape. Of course, the difference in reach is critical in actual combat as well. When attacking from horseback, swords can be blocked even by helmets.”

    ===

    Uhhhh no. Swords were versatile sidearms. So while you might use a lance or a spear, you’d still wear one if you happened to lose it. Aside from just generally being less cumbersome to wear on a belt, since trapezing about with a spear in hand is a bit cumbersome and awkward in a civilian context.

    Like in the modern day, you don’t go about your day-to-day life wearing bulletproof vests and carrying the most high-powered rifles possible. For the same reason, it’s not like Eliza would wear full armor and take a war horse everywhere if she wanted to inspect her domain or visit the capital.

    Finally, if you happened to be just as armored as your opponent and you had both had swords, you aren’t specifically more vulnerable than the enemy. Techniques for fighting armored opponents were substantially different from fighting unarmored. And I’ve heard it described it as “can opener” fighting. Picture more wrestling moves instead of cutting.

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    • That said, the “can opener” fighting probably doesn’t apply in the era of chainmail tech. Since there are more than plenty of open gaps for cuts and a thrust can still make its way through the links.

      Likewise, helmets have openings too. The more coverage it gives, the less visibility you have in them. Roman galeas were open-faced helmets. Which is just as vulnerable to any sword as not.

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  9. I should also mention that Romans were also an exception in that they also almost exclusively used gladiuses and infantry formations for fighting, meaning that they were an army that structured itself almost entirely around using short swords for much of their early empire years.

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