A Loophole to Drive a Truck Through

The following days proved interesting, in a manner of speaking.

While Kyle’s routine remained mostly the same as it had since Kari’s arrival, Fiona and her band of brigands had definitely added some complications.

The inside of Kyle’s cottage had expanded again, with the bed now taking up even more real estate. The mattress now rested on a frame reinforced with iron to support the weight of one oni’s additional muscle mass. The arguments over the bed intensified now that a third party had entered the fray to the point where Kyle wondered if he should invent a couch just to get away from it.

Fiona’s band of misfits were unhappy with the more sedentary lifestyle they were being forced into. Benny in particular complained the loudest, and it was rubbing the locals the wrong way. But three days in, the bandits went hunting in the forest. When they brought back a smorgasbord of game and meats for everyone to enjoy, all was forgiven.

What was starting to change however, was Fiona’s insistence on taking Kyle away from his duties working the land.

A week into Fiona’s arrival, she’d ended up hefting Kyle over her shoulder and walking him across town before finally letting him down.

“You,” she told Kyle, “need to work on your fighting technique.”

“I don’t think I have one,” said Kyle.

Fiona snapped her fingers. “That’s your first problem.” She held up Kyle’s hand, pointing at the ring on his finger. “This is supposed to let you cast magic. But when I took those jewels off of you, there was nothing you could do.”

That didn’t get into his issues with being able to use it much. Abagail’s lessons had helped out but spamming spells was still a bad idea for now.

“You need to learn how to defend yourself without relying on that stuff.” She poked Kyle in the chest with enough force that he had to step back. “When we’re married, you’re gonna have to defend yourself from anyone who wants a piece of us.”

“‘When’?! Let’s not crack jokes right now.”

Fiona winked, holding up a pitchfork and a training sword. “While I’d love for you to be my size and heft a hammer, that’s a dream for another day. For now, you need to learn spears and swords.”

She began demonstrating the weapons, twirling around the pitchfork around and thrusting it into the air, slicing the air with the training sword, all while trying to break down what she was doing as best as she could.

The demo was interrupted by the arrival of Abagail and Kari, the latter carrying a large lunch. “Was looking for you two,” Abagail called out. “C’mon, I need to put him through his paces on some magic spells.”

“We’re not done yet,” said Fiona. “He’s just about to demonstrate some of the things I taught him.” She tossed the pitchfork to Kyle with a grin.

Kyle considered the pitchfork. Becoming a seasoned fighter took time and effort, things only a knight would have in this timeframe. It’s not like he could instantly learn to be a master.

Around Kyle’s neck, his amulet of wisdom began to shine. His head jerked around as his arms started to twirl the pitchfork across his body, thrusting the fork into the air and advancing each time.

Fiona clapped. “He learned quick!”

“Nah, that’s the amulet,” Abagail explained. “That’s the other thing he got from the goddess.”

Kari nodded. “It allows him to learn about anything he can understand.”

Fiona turned back to Kyle, whose body was now demonstrating mastery of the training sword. “I demonstrated how to fight with a weapon, and then that amulet turns him into an expert?”

“That appears to be how it works, correct.”

Kyle grinned, even in his semi-lucid state. Finally, the loophole he'd been looking for. 

After a moment’s consideration, Fiona laughed. “…We are going to exploit the hell out of this.”

---

Kyle was confused how he ended up shirtless on his bed again. Fiona had claimed that he’d ripped it open while he was training. Abagail and Kari seemed to confirm the story but he still wasn’t sure how he’d done it.

The training sword was resting on the kitchen counter. The women had explained the amulet of wisdom had gone off while Fiona was teaching him how to fight.

He picked up the sword… and immediately rotated it around.

Peasant Kyle gasped. “That’s crazy. We learned how to be an expert fighter and all it took was seeing how to do it.”

Office Kyle shrugged. “It seems more like a power from a battle royale than an isekai. But this is fantastic! It means we can learn some practical skills, maybe a trade, do something that can get us a living. Or heck, maybe adventuring is a thing in this world. Whole lot of isekais end up being an overpowered adventurer soloing things!”

It was worth considering. But he had more immediate problems. Like saving the village by getting Kari to the Prince – he was really starting to not like the guy and he’d never even met him. Killed the last mayor, kicked Fiona’s family out of town, aiming to turn the land into his own exclusive hunting grounds… really not a fan.

But then he also had another, even more immediate problem: he was thirsty. He had a bit of water left and he immediately drank it, but that meant he’d need to go to the well and that took ages. If only he could turn the faucet and –

His amulet began glowing again as he fell to the floor.

…high calcium content…alternative soldering materials…magical heating elements…

The door to the cottage opened, with Abagail walking in on a seized up and convulsing Kyle.

“Kari! Fiona!” Abagail called out. “It happened again!”