Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.43 – The Knight Starts Anew (5)
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The cadets wouldn't believe it, but Lee Han and Lark had fought while holding back their power as much as possible.
After all, they had to be careful fighting in an underground space, didn't they?
So today, Lee Han and Lark hadn't even used their Fighting Techniques at the light level.
Even relying solely on pure physical abilities and technique, they'd produced these results.
...The fairy's blessing truly was impressive.
It allowed him to exhibit strength on par with a typical knight order vice-commander (Lv. 5) using just raw physical prowess.
"I'd love to go at it with weapons too, but that might actually kill the kids, so let's call it here."
"......Next time, I'll be the one calling you out."
"Heh, so you're admitting it helped? Even bent that stubborn streak of yours?"
"...Shut up!"
It seemed like a satisfying spar for him too, not just Lee Han.
He would have needed to adjust his body and senses just like Lee Han, and he'd likely made significant progress today.
'I feel like I adjusted about 60%, but that guy's probably at 80% already.'
Purely in terms of sense, he was someone Lee Han couldn't even compare to, so Lark might have the edge next time.
Of course.
'The greater the crisis, the better.'
The higher the opponent's skill, the faster his own adjustments would come—far from a problem, it was welcome.
Lee Han planned to visit Duke Galahad next time armed with his sword. As he pondered this,
"-Have you learned the Fighting Technique?"
"Huh?"
"It's Galahad's secret art infused with my personal interpretation. You're you, so I doubt it'll happen, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't pass it on to others."
"...One piece of advice, and you're already nagging."
Lee Han let out a hollow laugh at the admonition.
Who was advising whom here, really.
"Don't dish out advice you can't take yourself? Don't go blabbing my techniques everywhere. Actually, even if you do, at least ask permission first. And make damn sure they know they're under my wing the moment they learn it."
"...Galahad's knights aren't allowed side gigs, though...."
For the first time, Lark groaned in complaint.
......The final battle in the Empire.
To fight a monster that had lived over four centuries, Lee Han and Lark had shared their secret arts.
Lark gave his Fighting Technique.
Lee Han shared his Lightness Skill.
The dire circumstances had led them to exchange everything, and for that moment, Lee Han and Lark had felt something akin to omnipotence.
Lee Han had jokingly called it his "Ultimate Body Technique," but it truly lived up to the name—an extraordinary method that let them pressure even that monster.
...But looking back now, it was undeniably a mad gamble with their lives.
Any secret art required years of gradual mastery due to the risks, yet they'd crammed it all at once.
Had they not received the fairy's blessing, Lee Han and Lark might have suffered permanent disabilities.
Lee Han could have endured aftereffects like repeated explosions inside his body, while Lark might have ended up a vegetable with his body grotesquely twisted.
What they'd done was foolish beyond measure.
The fairy's repair of their bodies was truly a great blessing.
And thanks to that, seeds remained within them....
'Seeds remain.'
He no longer felt that omnipotence.
At best, he retained faint remnants and sensations of the Fighting Technique from that day.
If that day's power had been a blast furnace at thousands of degrees, now it was merely the spark of a matchstick.
The same went for Lark.
...Yet no matter how small the spark, nurturing it was a matter of personal effort.
Lee Han was confident.
With experience already under his belt and a clear path mapped in his body, steady practice could one day recreate that power—or so he dared predict.
Well....
"I'll just cherry-pick what I need, so I might end up discarding half of what you taught me?"
"Blasphemous wretch! What do you take Galahad's secret art for?!"
"Bullshit. It's impressive for you lot who've trained in it from the start, but not for me. Besides, I'm still nowhere near mastering what I'm working on now—where would I find time to branch out? So ultimately, your Fighting Technique or Battle Aura is just training wheels for my path. Nothing more, nothing less. ...Same for you."
"......"
No matter how great the Fighting Technique, what Lee Han aimed to perfect was the power he was honing now.
His Lightness Skill—his [Martial Art].
That was....
-My dream.
"Hmph, arrogant bastard."
He scowled deeply, deeply offended at the idea of treating Galahad's secret art as mere training wheels.
Truly a blasphemous guy.
...But a glint of admiration and curiosity shone in his eyes.
Anticipation for how far the creator of a new martial art could go.
─Though he'd never admit it aloud.
......Silence fell.
Not even a blink or a dry swallow felt permissible.
Yes, the cadets were currently,
'So that's the power of top-tier knights.'
'I knew the instructor was strong, but... this strong...?'
'The guardian of the lake lives up to the legends! ...But seriously, why was he nameless with that strength?'
utterly overwhelmed.
If someone could witness such overwhelming might and remain unfazed, that would be the real marvel.
......At the same time, they felt a touch of despair.
Realizing how harsh and vast the wall stood between them and the world they aspired to.
They'd prided themselves on growing stronger over the past half-year, only to learn they were mere frogs in a well. Their pride shattering was inevitable.
But Lee Han hadn't shown them the spar to crush their pride.
"-If guys like us showed up as enemies, how would you deal with it?"
"??"
...Was he teasing them?
That was the first thought as he wiped bloodstains and posed the question.
But.
"Answer me, Bear Cub."
"Uh, well...."
He was utterly serious, leaving Levi looking troubled.
But only for a moment.
"This is just an example, but if a powerhouse like Master were my enemy, I'd... run away."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
A resolutely firm answer.
Not the response one might expect from someone of Pendragon, the knightly kingdom that exalted honor and combat, but Levi chose 'reality' over honor and struggle.
"No matter how many lives I had, I couldn't beat Master with my skill. Tactics or stratagems mean nothing against overwhelming force."
Levi remembered the monster raid and had faced the Demon King head-on during it.
Unless you were on the level to fight such a beast even briefly, battling him was more foolish than self-harm.
However.
"If I had five hundred skilled soldiers and ten senior knights, I think I could hold Master back for a bit. ...Though it'd be less than ten minutes."
"...Ho."
Not arrogance, but a coldly realistic calculation—and Lee Han smiled.
As if he'd heard a truly entertaining reply.
"You think that force could pin me down for ten minutes?"
"Yes. If we were prepared to sacrifice our lives, we might buy another five minutes."
"......"
Eyes brimming with conviction.
Lee Han seemed intensely curious about what simulations played out in her mind.
...A glimpse of the extraordinary heroine who would have earned the title [Mercenary Queen] had the future not changed. Even the other cadets couldn't hide their awe at her assured demeanor.
To speak such words after witnessing the knights' clash took remarkable courage.
Though she'd said to run, they saw 'valor' in Levi's upright posture.
The 'dignity of a knight.'
"Then suppose you can't avoid it no matter what, and you can't rely on troops—what then?"
"...In that case."
The cadets half-expected a playful "I'd have to die, right?" but from Levi's lips came something unexpected.
"-I'd struggle."
"......"
Resolve shone through.
Her blue eyes gleamed with quiet light.
"Master's teachings were always like that, weren't they? Do your best no matter what, struggle with everything you've got even in dire straits."
"Live today like it's your whole life, free of regrets."
"So I'd fight. Because—"
─that's the lesson you gave me.
"......"
Her calm, resolute answer ended, and silence blanketed the area.
They knew it wasn't bravado, but sincerity.
They remembered.
Her valiant stand during the terrorist attack....
No cadet could doubt her words.
Afterward, the cadets—especially the boys claiming knight candidacy—flushed red.
Their own crumbling pride felt pathetic compared to her steadfast valor.
Lee Han nodded approvingly at her words and his disciples' reactions.
"As expected of the model student. Good answer."
"Hehe."
"Still, that's a B+."
"Huh?"
"A bit short of an A."
"Eek...."
Levi's eyes glistened pitifully like a rain-soaked puppy, but Lee Han just chuckled.
...What Lee Han wanted from the cadets was their resolve and mindset in battle.
To put it extremely: no one knew how many more monsters like the Chimera or Demon King lay ahead.
Best to avoid facing such beasts, of course, but one must always prepare for the worst.
So today, Lee Han had shown them.
How strong he was.
Not to boast, just to demonstrate.
That among the threats ahead, some might surpass even this.
He hated seeing their spirits crushed, but at least they'd had their preventive shot—good enough.
"...Not just them, either."
He hadn't been the only one getting inoculated.
Lee Han himself had received a harsh dose back in the Empire, hadn't he?
'That was reckless. Suicidal, even.'
He didn't regret fighting the Magic Tower, but the method had been foolhardy.
Letting emotions drive the fight had nearly gotten him killed.
A slight misstep in the plan, and he'd have died.
...Pointlessly.
'Time to reflect.'
He couldn't just scold the kids; he needed to hold himself accountable too.
Pathetic near-death....
"Hehe, you're doing great, Sir Knight. Don't blame yourself too much!"
"......"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...Miss Maid, stop reading my mind."
"I can't do that."
"......"
"Hehe."
Leira Winter circled him with innocent laughter and words of comfort. Lee Han scratched his cheek awkwardly.
He always thought this, but nothing stayed hidden from this maid....
"-By the way, Sir Knight. I heard you got a fairy's blessing?"
"......"
"Right?"
"Th-that's...."
...Suddenly, Lee Han stiffened, cold sweat pouring.
Why?
Why did it feel so guilty?
Even facing her usual bright smile, he shrank back.
'Wh-what's wrong with me?'
Like the tension of getting caught stealing?
...Either way.
'I'm busted...?'
Lee Han wondered what to say.
But soon.
'No, own it boldly!'
Yeah, getting a fairy's blessing wasn't a crime.
Plus, she didn't know the details....
"Miss Irene was crying as she told me you got a fairy's kiss...."
"......"
...A loose-lipped chick was around.
"Hmm...."
"......"
Lee Han stood speechless, like a stone statue.
Silence.
They weren't even involved, yet he felt like a criminal before her.
'Is it sadder that we're not involved?'
A melancholic moment, but....
"Hehe, why the long face, Sir Knight? I'm not mad."
"?"
"Sorry for teasing. I just wanted to check something—and I have!"
"??"
"Knights often fall for fairies. But not you, Sir Knight."
"...Huh?"
Lee Han kept playing the fool, but Leira beamed with satisfaction.
She brushed past him with a smile, and as Lee Han failed to grasp her mood—
Tap.
"-And did you know? Your first kiss wasn't with a fairy."
"Wha...?"
A whisper tickled his ear, and Lee Han's eyes widened.
What did that mean....
He wanted to ask, but couldn't grab her.
"!!"
...He'd seen her cheek flush pink.
"........."
Confirming it, Lee Han stood dazed for a while. Then—
BAM!
......He dove into the nearby river.
An insane heat overwhelmed him.
The lingering summer swelter that made even his heart pound....
Yes, it was just the heat.
The sweltering heat of...
...summer.