From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now and They Won't Leave Me Alone (片田舎のおっさん、剣聖になる ～ただの田舎の剣術師範だったのに、大成した弟子たちが俺を放ってくれない件～, Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken) is a Japanese light novel series written by Shigeru Sagazaki and illustrated by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. It initially began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in November 2020. It was later acquired by Square Enix, who began publishing it under their SQEX Novel imprint in April 2021. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kazuki Satō began serialization in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion in August 2021. An anime television series adaptation produced by Passione and Hayabusa Film aired from April to June 2025. A second season is set to premiere in 2026.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won't Leave Me Alone
First light novel volume cover, featuring (from left to right) Surena Lysandra, Allucia Citrus, and Beryl Gardinant
片田舎のおっさん、剣聖になる ～ただの田舎の剣術師範だったのに、大成した弟子たちが俺を放ってくれない件～ (Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken)
Genre	Fantasy[1]
Novel series
Written by	Shigeru Sagazaki
Published by	Shōsetsuka ni Narō
Original run	November 17, 2020 – present
Light novel
Written by	Shigeru Sagazaki
Illustrated by	Tetsuhiro Nabeshima
Published by	Square Enix
English publisher	NA: J-Novel Club
Imprint	SQEX Novel
Original run	April 7, 2021 – present
Volumes	9
Manga
Written by	Shigeru Sagazaki
Illustrated by	Kazuki Satō
Published by	Akita Shoten
English publisher	NA: Yen Press
Imprint	Young Champion Comics
Magazine	Dokodemo Young Champion
Original run	August 24, 2021 – present
Volumes	7
Manga
Gaiden: Hajimari no Mahō Kenshi
Written by	Itsuki Watanabe
Illustrated by	Megumu Soramichi
Published by	Square Enix
Magazine	Manga Up!
Original run	November 29, 2024 – present
Volumes	1
Manga
Gaiden: Ryūsōken no Kiseki
Written by	Zenji Yotsuya
Illustrated by	Sasami Hazama
Published by	Square Enix
Magazine	Young Gangan
Original run	February 7, 2025 – present
Volumes	1
Anime television series
Directed by	Akio Kazumi
Written by	Kunihiko Okada
Music by	Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio	Passione Hayabusa Film
Licensed by	Amazon Prime Video
Original network	ANN (TV Asahi), BS Asahi, AT-X
Original run	April 5, 2025 – present
Episodes	12

Plot

Beryl Gardinant is a swordsman in his mid-forties who teaches at a small dojo in a countryside village. Though viewing himself as thoroughly unimpressive, one day, he is visited by one of his former pupils and invited to become an instructor for the knights of the Liberion Order in the capital. Reluctantly accepting the offer, this leads to Beryl reuniting with many other former disciples and discovering that they have all become highly accomplished individuals using the "backwater" skills he taught them.

Characters

Beryl Gardinant (ベリル・ガーデナント, Beriru Gādenanto)

Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata^[2] (Japanese); Cory Yee^{Ep. 1 credits} (English)

A middle aged sword trainer who operates a rural dojo. Despite his insistence that there is nothing special about him, he has ended up training some of the most powerful and influential fighters and adventurers in the entire kingdom.

Allucia Citrus (アリューシア・シトラス, Aryūshia Shitorasu)

Voiced by: Nao Tōyama^[3] (Japanese); Ashley Bell^{Ep. 1 credits} (English)

The leader of the knights of the Liberion Order, she was one of Beryl's students and recommends him to be a special trainer for the Liberion Order so that the kingdom can recognize his skills. She also has a crush on Beryl and views Surena as her rival.

Surena Lysandra (スレナ・リサンデラ, Surena Risandera)

Voiced by: Hitomi Ueda^[4] (Japanese); Chelsea Krause^{Ep. 1 credits} (English)

A black-ranked adventurer and one of Beryl's students. She was orphaned as a child and rescued by Beryl, who taught her how to use a sword. She also has a crush on Beryl and views Allucia as her rival.

Curuni Crueciel (クルニ・クルーシエル, Kuruni Kurūshieru)

Voiced by: Yuuki Hirose^[5] (Japanese); Kana Shimanuki^{Ep. 1 credits} (English)

A knight of the Liberion Order who trained under Beryl.

Henbritz Drought (ヘンブリッツ・ドラウト, Henburittsu Dorauto)

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa^[6] (Japanese); Nathan McLaron^{Ep. 1 credits} (English)

Allucia's second-in-command in the Liberion Order. He is initially skeptical of Beryl's skill, but after being defeated in a duel by him, becomes one of his most enthusiastic students.

Ficelle Harbeller (フィッセル・ハーベラー, Fisseru Hāberā)

Voiced by: Hinaki Yano^[7] (Japanese); Julz Roche^{Ep. 2 credits} (English)

A mage of the Magic Corps and one of Beryl's students. Due to her training under Beryl, Ficelle specializes in sword magic where she uses a sword to cast her spells.

Lucy Diamond (ルーシー・ダイアモンド, Rūshī Daiamondo)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō^[6] (Japanese); Nicole Gose^{Ep. 2 credits} (English)

The leader of the Magic Corps who takes an interest in Beryl after hearing Ficelle's stories of him. She is a highly skilled mage, and reportedly uses magic to make herself look younger than she actually is, making her true age unknown.

Mewi Freya (ミュイ・フレイア, Myui Fureia)

Voiced by: Arisa Nakada [ja]^[8] (Japanese); Wissall Homayun^{Ep. 4 credits} (English)

A young girl who is Beryl's adoptive daughter. She was previously a pickpocket who was told that she could use the money she stole to resurrect her sister.

Spur (シュプール, Shupūru)

Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka^[8] (Japanese); Michael Woodley^{Ep. 5 credits} (English)

A knight who serves as the bodyguard of Reveos Sarleon, a bishop of the Church of Sphene. He has extraordinary swordsmanship.

Rose Marbleheart (ロゼ・マーブルハート, Roze Māburuhāto)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano^[9] (Japanese); Shannon O'Brien^{Ep. 9 credits} (English)

The lieutenant of the Holy Order of the Church of Sphene. She is another one of Beryl's former students.

Gatoga Lazorne (ガトガ・ラズオーン, Gatoga Razuōn)

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi^[9] (Japanese); Varian David^{Ep. 10 credits} (English)

The Knight Commander of the Holy Order of the Church of Sphene.

Media

Light novel

Written by Shigeru Sagazaki, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now and They Won't Leave Me Alone began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on November 17, 2020.^[10] It was later acquired by Square Enix who began publishing it as a light novel with illustrations by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima under their SQEX Novel imprint on April 7, 2021. Nine volumes have been released as of March 2025.^[11] The light novel is licensed in English by J-Novel Club.^[12]

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	North American release date	North American ISBN
1	April 7, 2021[13]	978-4-7575-7190-7	November 22, 2023[14]	978-1-7183-2470-1
2	September 7, 2021[15]	978-4-7575-7462-5	February 28, 2024[14]	978-1-7183-2472-5
3	February 7, 2022[16]	978-4-7575-7732-9	May 15, 2024[14]	978-1-7183-2474-9
4	July 7, 2022[17]	978-4-7575-8022-0	November 4, 2024[14]	978-1-7183-2476-3
5	December 7, 2022[18]	978-4-7575-8300-9	January 15, 2025[14]	978-1-7183-2478-7
6	June 7, 2023[19]	978-4-7575-8605-5	April 2, 2025[14]	978-1-7183-2480-0
7	January 6, 2024[20]	978-4-7575-8997-1	July 2, 2025[14]	978-1-7183-2482-4
8	August 6, 2024[21]	978-4-7575-9345-9	October 10, 2025[14]	978-1-7183-2484-8
9	March 27, 2025[11]	978-4-7575-9776-1	—	—

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Kazuki Satō began serialization in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion on August 24, 2021.^[22][23] The manga's chapters have been collected into seven tankōbon volumes as of March 2025.^[24]

During their panel at Sakura-Con 2024, Yen Press announced that they licensed the manga adaptation.^[25]

A spin-off manga series written by Itsuki Watanabe and illustrated by Megumu Soramichi, titled Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru Gaiden: Hajimari no Mahō Kenshi, began serialization on Square Enix's Manga Up! manga service on November 29, 2024.^[6] The spin-off's chapters have been collected into a single tankōbon volume as of March 2025.^[26]

Another spin-off manga series, titled Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru Gaiden: Ryūsōken no Kiseki, began serialization in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine on February 7, 2025. The series is written by Zenji Yotsuya and illustrated by Sasami Hazama and is centered around the character Surena Lysandra.^[27] The spin-off's chapters have been collected into a single tankōbon volume as of March 2025.^[28]

Volumes

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	February 18, 2022[29]	978-4-253-30691-1	September 17, 2024[30]	979-8-855-40189-9
2	June 20, 2022[31]	978-4-253-30692-8	January 21, 2025[32]	979-8-855-40191-2
3	March 20, 2023[33]	978-4-253-30693-5	May 27, 2025[34]	979-8-855-40193-6
4	August 24, 2023[35]	978-4-253-30694-2	October 28, 2025[36]	979-8-855-40195-0
5	January 26, 2024[37]	978-4-253-30695-9	—	—
6	August 6, 2024[38]	978-4-253-30696-6	—	—
7	March 27, 2025[24]	978-4-253-30697-3	—	—

Gaiden: Hajimari no Mahō Kenshi

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	March 27, 2025[26]	978-4-7575-9775-4	—	—

Gaiden: Ryūsōken no Kiseki

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	March 27, 2025[28]	978-4-7575-9776-1	—	—

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on August 1, 2024. It was produced by Passione and Hayabusa Film and directed by Akio Kazumi, with series composition by Kunihiko Okada, characters designed by Satsuki Hayasaka, who also served as chief animation director, and music composed by Yasuharu Takanashi.^[39] The series aired from April 5 to June 22, 2025, on the IMAnimation programming block on all ANN affiliates, including TV Asahi.^[a] The opening theme song is "Heroes" performed by Takanori Nishikawa,^[40] while the ending theme song is "Alright!!!" performed by Flow. Amazon Prime Video is streaming the series worldwide.^[8]

A second season was announced after the conclusion of the first, and is set to premiere in 2026.^[41]

Episodes

No.	Title [42][43]	Directed by [42]	Written by [42]	Storyboarded by [42]	Original release date [44]
1	"The Old Country Bumpkin Goes to the Capital" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Shuto ni Iku" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、首都に行く)	Daiki Shikimoto	Kunihiko Okada	Akio Kazumi [ja] & Shuhei Morita	April 5, 2025 (2025-04-05)
Beryl Gardinant works as a swordfighting trainer in a remote country dojo. Though he had dreams of becoming an adventurer, he settled for teaching many students. One day, one of his old students, Liberion Order commander Allucia Citrus, arrives at his home. Allucia explains that she recommended Beryl to be a special instructor for the Liberion Order, which was approved by the king. Unable to refuse, Beryl travels to the capital city of Baltrain with Allucia, where he introduces himself to the soldiers and reunites with a second former student named Curuni Crueciel. Upon returning home, Beryl finds out his father has arranged for another former student, Randrid Pattlerock, to take over the dojo. Returning to Baltrain, Beryl encounters yet another former student, Surena Lysandra, who has become Allucia's rival. During his first training session, Beryl is challenged to a duel by the Liberion Order's vice commander, Henbritz Drought. Beryl uses his experience to predict Henblitz's moves and defeat him, winning his and the Order's respect. Back at the village, Beryl's father and Randrid hope Beryl can make a name for himself in the capital.
2	"The Old Country Bumpkin is Astounded by a Wizard" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Majutsu-shi ni Kyōgaku Suru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、魔術師に驚愕する)	Masaru Kawashima	Kunihiko Okada	Akio Kazumi	April 12, 2025 (2025-04-12)
One week after becoming a special instructor, Beryl has gotten used to his new position, and Curuni offers to show him around Baltrain. Meanwhile, Allucia recalls her training with Beryl, and that she did not realize how skilled he was until she and her fellow students easily defeated another dojo in a competition. After graduating and working her way up to be the commander of the Liberion Order by defeating all of her opponents, Allucia came to conclusion that Beryl does not realize how strong he truly is. She then decided it would be her mission to push Beryl and the entire kingdom to recognize his skill. As Beryl and Curuni tour the city, they run into another of his former students, Ficelle Harbeller, who is now a wizard of the Magic Corps. He initially believes Ficelle gave up swordfighting until she uses special sword magic to apprehend a criminal. The next morning, Beryl encounters the commander of the Magic Corps, Lucy Diamond, who challenges him to a duel in order to test this skills.
3	"The Old Country Bumpkin Weathers a Fierce Attack" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Mōkō o Shinogu" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 猛攻を凌ぐ)	Yūta Kida	Kunihiko Okada	Shinji Itadaki	April 19, 2025 (2025-04-19)
While Beryl is unable to land a hit on Lucy, he manages to avoid being hit by her spells, which is enough to impress her. Later, Surena approaches Beryl with a request from the Adventurer's Guild to help train young adventurers. Beryl recalls his ill-fated attempt at becoming an adventurer in his youth and does not feel qualified, but both Surena and Lucy vouch for his skills. The Guildmaster eventually agrees to have Beryl duel Surena to prove himself. Surena is enthusiastic at the opportunity to properly face off against Beryl, recalling how he rescued her when she was a child. After learning how to use swords from Beryl, she became an adventurer so she could continue to use the skills he taught her as well as prevent other children from being orphaned like her. During the duel, Beryl acknowledges Surena has improved drastically, but spots a weakness in her non-dominant left hand and is able to exploit it to defeat her. Beryl reluctantly becomes a trainer for the Adventurer's Guild and accompanies a trainee party with Surena. While they easily clear a cave of monsters, the party is ambushed by high level monster called Zeno Grable.
4	"The Old Country Bumpkin Takes Flight With a Monster" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Monsutā to Sora wo Tobu" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 モンスターと空を飛ぶ)	Ippei Ichii	Satoshi Ozaki	Shinji Itadaki	April 26, 2025 (2025-04-26)
Beryl manages to hold his own against Zeno Grable, stabbing the beast the eye and distracting it long enough for Surena to land the killing blow. Beryl is celebrated as a hero by the Adventurer's Guild for this feat, but he turns down their offer to become an adventurer. The next day, Curuni and Allucia take Beryl to a local blacksmith to replace the sword he broke battling Zeno Grable. He is pleasantly surprised to see the blacksmith is another of his former students, Balder Gasp. Beryl and Balder both notice Curuni's short sword is suffering more wear than it should be, and deduce that her fighting style favors larger and heavier swords, so she decides to switch to a Zweihänder. Surena then brings one of Zeno Grable's claws and commissions Balder to make a new sword out of it for Beryl. After training Curuni how to use the Zweihänder and having dinner, Beryl heads home and catches a pickpocket named Mewi attempting to steal his wallet. Mewi uses magic to escape, but accidentally leaves her necklace behind, which Beryl picks up.
5	"The Old Country Bumpkin Gets Enraged by the Bad Guys" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Akutō ni Ikidōru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 悪党に憤る)	Hiroki Moritomo	Kunihiko Okada	Hiroaki Yoshikawa	May 3, 2025 (2025-05-03)
Beryl decides to turn the necklace in to the Order as lost property but encounters Mewi searching for it. He helps her recover the necklace and brings her to Allucia, where she admits that she has turned to crime due to a wizard promising to revive her deceased sister in return for five million dalc. Allucia brings Lucy over to talk to Mewi, and Lucy offers to take her into the Magic Institute, warning her that resurrection magic does not exist. Mewi insists she witnessed her sister being briefly resurrected, and reveals the wizard who made the offer to her is named Twilight, the leader of the criminal gang Dark Hand of Twilight. Lucy tells Mewi to lead her to Twilight, and requests Beryl accompany them. Beryl neutralizes Twilight's henchmen while Lucy defeats the wizard and forces him to admit he scammed Mewi. Afterwards, the Order takes custody of Twilight and his men while Lucy takes in Mewi. However, Lucy warns the Order that Twilight is likely being controlled by somebody else. Sure enough, Twilight is assassinated by members of the church, who plan to use the corpses he collected for them in a ritual.
6	"The Old Country Bumpkin Faces the Dead" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Shisha to Taijisuru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 死者と対峙する)	Ippei Ichii	Satoshi Ozaki	Hiroaki Yoshikawa	May 10, 2025 (2025-05-10)
Beryl receives his new sword but is quickly summoned by Lucy, who warns him that a bishop of the Church of Sphene, Reveos Sarleon, is likely Twilight's secret backer and plans to use the corpses to recreate the Sphene's Miracle, which supposedly can resurrect the dead. Sarleon has already been called to testify before the Order, but Lucy asks Beryl to be prepared to capture him if he tries to flee the country. Beryl agrees to the plan since there is a chance they can recover the body of Mewi's sister. He has a brief reunion with Mewi, who is still confused why he and Lucy are treating her so nicely. Beryl assures her that they just want to give her a better future. That night, Beryl catches Sarleon attempting to flee. Ficelle and Curuni arrive to hold off the guards so Beryl can confront Sarleon himself. Once Sarleon resurrects the corpses as zombies, Beryl is forced to stop them and Spur, Sarleon's bodyguard. Sarleon is then apprehended. The next day, Lucy rewards Beryl by gifting him a house, while Mewi agrees to have him be assigned her legal guardian and live with him.
7	"The Old Country Bumpkin Learns the Challenges of Parenting" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Oya no Kurō o Shiru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 親の苦労を知る)	Hiroki Moritomo	Kunihiko Okada	Masatoshi Chioka, Masae Nakayama, & Akio Kazumi	May 17, 2025 (2025-05-17)
Beryl struggles to figure out how to take care of Mewi as her adoptive father. After touring the city together, he accompanies her to the Magic Institute where they meet one of the teachers, Kinera Fine. Kinera advises that since Mewi can produce flames, she should focus on studying offensive magic. She then takes them on a tour of the school, including the dormitory. On the way home, Beryl wonders whether it would better for Mewi to live in the dormitory or with him and if she can adjust to school life. He consults with his students and acquaintances, all of whom advise him to allow Mewi to live in the dormitory, but he is still left conflicted. After helping Beryl remove rats from their house, Mewi ultimately makes the decision to commute to the Magic Institute from home rather than live in the dormitory. The decision catches Beryl by surprise, but he comes to accept it after seeing Mewi's determination.
8	"The Old Country Bumpkin Gets Struck by a Lightning-Fast Sword" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Shinsoku no Ken o Kurau" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 神速の剣を食らう)	Yūta Kida	Kunihiko Okada	Shinji Itadaki	May 24, 2025 (2025-05-24)
Allucia informs Beryl that a foreign delegation will be visiting Baltrain soon, and advises that he buy new clothes since he will be personally meeting the dignitaries. Once Beryl reluctantly agrees, Allucia takes him out shopping. Curuni and Henbritz secretly follow the pair, with Curuni believing Allucia has a romantic interest in Beryl. At the end of the day, Beryl buys a new set of clothes and takes his leave. Henbritz then directly confronts Allucia about her feelings for Beryl, but she gives a vague answer. The next day, Allucia challenges Beryl to a duel. During the duel, Beryl realizes Allucia has improved significantly since they last sparred, and knows he cannot win against her in a fair fight. Instead, he defeats Allucia by grabbing her cloak and throwing her to the ground. Allucia accepts the defeat as a valuable lesson. After Beryl leaves, Henbritz approaches Allucia again, who admits she planned to confess her feelings to Beryl if she won. Later that night, Mewi points out to Beryl Allucia's obvious interest in him, to which he refuses to acknowledge due to their large age difference.
9	"The Old Country Bumpkin Goes on His First Hunt in Ages" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Hisashiburi ni Kari ni Iku" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 ひさしぶりに狩りに行く)	Masaru Kawashima	Kunihiko Okada	Takashi Kamei	May 31, 2025 (2025-05-31)
Seeing that Mewi does not have a school bag, Beryl resolve to buy one before her first day at the Magic Institute, but balks at the high price. Surena then approaches him for help on a tough job from the Guild to capture a rare horse, which he complies. Once they arrive in the forest, they have difficulty catching the horse. However, after both Beryl and the horse are caught in a landslide, he manages to win its respect when he rescues it. Beryl uses the reward money to buy Mewi's new school bag, and finds out that Mewi took on a part-time job in order to buy him a new ceramic mug to replace his chipped wooden one. The next day, Beryl sees Mewi off to her first day at the Magic Institute. At the Order training hall, Allucia informs Beryl that the Commander and Vice Commander of the Order of Sphene have arrived, and she plans to meet them with Henbritz. Still suspicious due to Sarleon's actions, Beryl decides to meet them as well and is surprised to see the Vice Commander is another former student of his, Rose Marbleheart.
10	"The Old Country Bumpkin Guards a Princess" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Ōjo no Goei ni Tsuku" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 王女の護衛に着く)	Masaru Kawashima	Kunihiko Okada	Takashi Kamei	June 7, 2025 (2025-06-07)
Commander Gatoca informs Allucia that since Rose is new to her position and has never been to Baltrain, he has brought her ahead of the delegation so she can familiarize herself with the city. Beryl ends up showing Rose around the city for a bit, and she teases the idea of living with him if she were to move to Baltrain. When he returns home, Mewi complains that she has trouble reading some of her textbooks, and Beryl promises to help her study. On the day the delegation from Sphenedyardvania arrives, Allucia assigns herself, Beryl, and Henbrtiz to guard Sphenedyardvania's Third Princess, Salacia, who will be traveling together with Prince Glenn, who will be guarded by Gatoca and Rose. As Glenn and Salacia tour the city, the delegation is suddenly attacked by a group of assassins. Beryl and the knights manage to fight them off, though Gatoca apparently recognizes one of the assassins. The attack is thwarted, but the captured assassins kill themselves with suicide pills, denying any opportunity to interrogate them.
11	"The Old Country Bumpkin Throws Himself into a Deadly Fight" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Shitō ni Miwotōjiru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 死闘に身を投じる)	Yūta Kida	Kunihiko Okada	Kotarō Kakita & Akio Kazumi	June 14, 2025 (2025-06-14)
Everybody splits up for the day once Glenn and Salacia are escorted back to the safety. Rose asks Allucia about the details of the next location of the tour, and they end up trading stories about Beryl before they help a lost child find his mother. Meanwhile, Beryl returns home to find Lucy waiting for him. She warns him that Sphenedyardvania is currently in the midst of a power struggle between the Papists and Royalists, and the assassins were likely sent by the Church of Sphene to kill Glenn so he can be replaced by the Second Prince Flax, who is loyal to the Church. The next day, Glenn decides to continue the tour as planned. Curuni is assigned to the guard detail while Gatoca admits to Beryl that he recognized one of the assassins as Hinnis, the former vice commander before Rose. During the tour, the assassins attack again. When there is a break in the fighting, Beryl requests Allucia take Glenn and Salacia to safety while he holds off the assassins. He then goes to confront Rose, who admits that she is in league with the assassins.
12	"The Old Country Bumpkin Gets Praised as a Master Swordsman" Transliteration: "Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei to Yobareru" (Japanese: 片田舎のおっさん、 剣聖と呼ばれる)	Ippei Ichii	Kunihiko Okada	Shinji Itadaki	June 22, 2025 (2025-06-22)[a]
Beryl faces down Rose in a duel and manages to strike her down. However, he decides to spare her life upon learning she was forced by the Pope to aid the assassins by holding the orphans in Sphenedyardvania hostage. Gatoca arrives and heals Rose, with Beryl confirming the accusation that Sarleon was dabbling in forbidden magic. Hearing this, Gatoca decides to cover up Rose's involvement with the assassins, and Rose promises to redeem herself. Afterwards, news of Beryl saving Glenn and Salacia spreads around the kingdom, and he is invited to attend a royal banquet. At the banquet, King Gladio thanks Beryl for protecting Salacia and officially recognizes him as a master swordsman, much to Allucia's delight, and Beryl returns home to Mewi, still content with living an ordinary life. Meanwhile, spies tail Rose and Gatoca as they return to Sphenedyardvania, while Randrid and Beryl's father hear of Beryl's exploits and hope this is the first step to him becoming a proper swordmaster.

Reception

By January 2024, the series had over 4 million copies in circulation.^[46] By August 2024, the series had over 5.5 million copies in circulation.^[47]

The manga adaptation was ranked third in the "I Want to Read it Now!" category at Rakuten Kobo's 1st E-book Manga Awards in 2023.^[48] The manga, alongside When Marriages Fracture and The Great Snake's Bride, won the 2023 Piccoma Award in the manga category.^[49] The manga was also ranked thirteenth at the 9th Next Manga Awards in the web category in 2023.^[50] The manga was also ranked second in the 2023 Tsutaya Comic Awards.^[51] The manga was also ranked thirteenth in Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics list of 2024.^[52]

See also

• Dog & Scissors, another light novel series with the same illustrator
• Magudala de Nemure, another light novel series with the same illustrator
• Reborn as a Space Mercenary, another light novel series with the same illustrator

Notes

1. This episode aired on June 22, 2025, at midnight JST, 30 minutes after the original air time on TV Asahi.^[45]