Should We Head Back to the Kingdom?
After confirming that Elia had already mastered all the basic sword forms, I had no choice but to completely revise the swordsmanship training plan I’d originally envisioned. Her talent far exceeded anything I could have imagined.
“Since she can already copy them perfectly, we can just focus on repetitive drills for the basics…”
The act of mimicking the basic forms was already flawless. At this point, what Elia needed most was to ingrain those movements into her body until they became second nature. Just like how Zenle had made her hold the fundamental stances for dozens of minutes at a time, we could simply have her repeat them before every training session.
That being the case, what should the core of her actual training consist of?
“…I should start teaching her the variant forms and combat-applicable techniques right away.”
There were many things I could teach her, but the highest priority was to pass on every sword form I knew. While she had perfectly replicated the basic forms I performed every day like stretching, I had yet to fully demonstrate the variant or combat versions. So first, I would teach her those two categories. After that, we could move on to mana sensitivity training to draw out aura, along with various practical techniques for different situations. I organized my thoughts accordingly.
Once I had the training schedule sorted out, all that remained was to begin with Elia, who was already shifting restlessly on the balls of her feet as she waited.
“Alright, sweetheart. From now on, Daddy’s going to show you each sword form one by one, so try to copy them exactly, okay?”
“Yes! I’m confident.”
I stood across from Elia and demonstrated all thirty variant forms and one hundred fifty combat forms in sequence. She watched with wide eyes, then alternated between observing me and imitating the movements. Out of the total one hundred eighty forms, she replicated one hundred two of them—ones that seemed familiar to her—with perfect or near-perfect posture. The remaining seventy-eight still showed quite a few immature or clumsy areas.
Still, the fact that she could follow one hundred two forms on her very first attempt proved it—she really was a genius.
I gave Elia, who had performed all one hundred eighty forms without once stopping to rest, a short break. Unable to hide the proud smile spreading across my face, I gazed at my daughter with deep affection.
Step, step—
“How’s Elia doing? Is she learning swordsmanship well?”
“Ah, Luina.”
During the brief rest, Luina emerged from the cottage where she had been cooking and walked over to my side. She naturally slipped her arm through mine and leaned her head against me. The Luina who had once been so shy that even holding hands made her blush after our confession had gradually grown bolder over the past three years. Now, she showed affection without the slightest hesitation.
The fresh, forest-like scent of her body tickled my nose. Breathing it in, I gently stroked the hair of the woman resting against my arm and answered.
“Yeah. Elia’s talent is truly exceptional. Her growth rate is impressive, but more than that, her eye for detail is on another level.”
“Is she really that good?”
“I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. If she keeps learning swordsmanship at this pace, by the time she’s… fifteen? She should already have more than enough skill to join the Chardena Knight Order.”
The Chardena Knight Order was not a place where ordinary strong fighters could even dream of entering. It was the kind of elite order where people praised as talented in rural areas could train for ten or twenty years and still never gain admission. In my eyes, Elia would fully master my swordsmanship in about seven years. By age fifteen, she would already be capable of holding her own against the knights of that order.
“As the order’s commander, I honestly want to deny those words… but seeing the young lady’s talent, I can’t bring myself to refute them.”
“Ah, Zenle. You were listening?”
While I was speaking to Luina about Elia’s talent, Zenle stepped out of the cottage and approached us with a shrug.
“Our order’s reputation is renowned enough to be known across the continent, yet this young lady makes the talents of our knights look like mere ordinary bones.”
“What can we do? Elia’s overflowing with talent. The way I see it, by the time she turns twenty, she might even surpass you, Zenle.”
“Ahaha, I think she’ll surpass me before she even turns twenty. By then I’ll already be in my forties, after all.”
“Oh, now that I think about it, you’re already around twenty-nine, aren’t you? You’re older than you look.”
Grind—
It was a remark made with absolutely no ill intent—just an honest observation. But the moment the words left my mouth, I realized my mistake. As expected, Zenle’s teeth ground together, and a murderous aura flared in her eyes.
“……”
Since I was her master, she refrained from spitting out curses, but if I hadn’t been, the killing intent radiating from her suggested she would have drawn the real sword at her waist and taken my head off right then and there. The bone-chilling aura made me quickly open my mouth to apologize.
“S-Sorry…”
“…It doesn’t seem like you meant any harm, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”
Zenle let out a small sigh and nodded at my swift apology. Luina, clearly agreeing that I was in the wrong, lightly bonked my arm with the head she had been resting against it. After the brief awkwardness passed, I gave an embarrassed laugh and turned back to Zenle.
“By the way, you’re returning to the order the day after tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. Now that I’ve finished teaching the young lady, I must return to my post. Her body has grown enough to properly receive swordsmanship instruction.”
“Hmm… the day after tomorrow, huh.”
The reason Zenle had been dispatched here was solely to build up Elia’s physical foundation until she was ready for sword training. Now that her task was complete, it was only natural for her to return. The reason I had asked again wasn’t because I was reluctant to see her go or wanted to ask her to stay longer. After all, we had communication orbs, so we could talk whenever we wanted, and it wasn’t as if we would never see each other again.
No, the real reason I’d asked was because I had begun thinking it might be time for us to return to the kingdom as well.
“We really should buy at least one mansion in the capital…”
It was possible to accept citizens who wished to migrate to my territory and develop a village here, but honestly, managing a fief while living there sounded like a hassle. What I wanted was simply a normal, happy life with my family. Moreover, to subjugate the Worst organization I had heard about from Zenle, I would need to resume activities in the kingdom and polish the rust off my old name and reputation.
In that case, heading back to the capital soon didn’t seem like a bad choice at all. I would also need to select both a mansion to live in and a suitable base of operations. With that in mind, I let out a low hum and quietly asked Luina.
“Luina, Elia’s grown quite a bit now. Shall we start preparing to head back to the kingdom?”
“Mmm… I suppose there’s no reason not to go now. There aren’t that many experiences to be had out here, after all.”
Luina seemed to ponder for a moment before giving her affirmative reply. Elia was already eight years old. Rather than staying in this rural village where the only real activity was training, letting her go to the kingdom to see and experience many different things would surely be good for her as well.
The deliberation was short, and the decision swift.
“Zenle, let’s go up to the kingdom together on the day you leave.”
“Eh… You mean with me?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to travel together? At least you’ll have someone to talk to on the way. It’ll be more fun, right?”
“Well… that’s true. Understood, then. Let’s head up together in two days, Master, Luina.”
Zenle looked momentarily dazed by my suggestion but eventually nodded, deciding there was no downside. Having lived together and interacted for the past few years, traveling with us would at least keep her from getting bored on the road. Besides… it also meant one more person in the capital who could play with Elia while Luina and I were busy. That was an excellent bonus.
Of course, if Zenle had known what I was really thinking, she would have shouted at me not to pawn off my child as her playmate. But what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
Feeling considerably lighter at the thought of our journey to the kingdom in two days, I smiled inwardly and picked up the wooden sword I had set down earlier. It seemed Elia had rested enough during our conversation for her breathing to return to normal. Seeing that she was ready to resume training, I gently disentangled myself from Luina’s reluctant arm and walked toward my daughter.
“Come on, get up, sweetheart! Time to start training again!”
“Yes! I’m ready!”
At my words, Elia sprang up from her spot and dashed over with a joyful leap. Together with her, I once again began our swordsmanship training.
It was two days before the kingdom would be turned upside down.