Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has Uses - Chapter 76
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"Damn it! Sir Sren! What are you doing? Finish it properly! We've practically won already, haven't we? Are you going easy on her because she's a woman?"
"Now, now, calm down, Senior Yuris."
Beonald, who had corrected his address to 'Senior' upon reflection, found his words falling on deaf ears.
'Good grief... It must be exhausting to serve a master who knows nothing about swordsmanship. I wish he'd just stay quiet. How is a knight supposed to exert their full strength with this kind of distraction?'
In stark contrast to Yuris, who was chattering noisily, Beonald didn't utter a single word, simply watching Heidi with trust.
Trust that would let her focus entirely on the fight, entrusting both victory and defeat to her.
And having entrusted it, he was only thinking about what came next, regardless of the outcome.
'...That aside, this knight is surprisingly good. The aura enveloping his body is at the level of a low knight, but his skill is anything but ordinary. The capital truly is the capital, I suppose?'
This knight named Sren definitely seemed superior in one-on-one combat compared to the mid-level knight, Sir Bent, whom he had fought in the past.
Although the quantity of aura was small, he used it extremely efficiently, deflecting or evading Heidi's fierce assaults while mixing in sharp counterattacks and skillfully blending feints and genuine attacks to a degree that she couldn't properly react.
'...Impressive.'
Sir Sren, age 41 this year. His family had served the Farlmen family for generations as knights or military officers. He too had attained the rank of knight through the mana breathing method learned from his father, but perhaps due to a lack of talent for communicating with aura, he remained a perennial low knight.
However, he was the type to persevere silently. Believing that if he had little, he should use it efficiently, he honed his own 'sword', grinding his bones to complete a method of sharply controlling his small amount of aura, yet he still failed the mid-knight exam every time.
Nevertheless, he endured steadfastly, polishing himself.
'There were many moments of despair, but I thought if I endured silently, I could overcome them. However...'
"Huaaah!"
In this female knight he was facing, he was physically feeling the difference in quality and talent.
The feints and genuine attacks of his 'sword', forged with blood, sweat, and tears. This female knight was clearly fooled, and even when he thought he had won, she would suddenly grow in each moment, leaping beyond it.
'...Normally, I should have pierced her over twenty times by now.'
He would deflect her flashy, fast swings that were feints and thrust perfectly, but her body would move from an impossible-to-dodge posture, and a golden aura would shine, making that movement a reality to evade it.
If it happened once or twice, he might have dismissed it as coincidence, but now this was happening over twenty times.
And she would adapt as if vowing not to be caught twice, and when he would play his next card to create another crisis, she would evolve again.
'This is talent... To that, add a blessed physique, and a wise lord who watches with faith and trust... She possesses everything a knight would want.'
Unlike his own lord, who was ranting like a monkey beside him.
A gaze full of trust, perceiving that his knight is growing now, using him as nourishment, and watching over it.
And it even makes him realize that he is merely one of the obstacles on the path she is walking.
"Hoo... Haaaaaah!"
'...Then I should become an even steeper obstacle.'
"Ugh!"
Claaaaang!
The outcome was practically already decided.
Sir Sren had few cards left from a lifetime of cultivation, and even if he used them all, this girl would probably surpass them.
If he simply conceded defeat and withdrew, he might receive some scolding from his master, but since a knight is important personnel, he wouldn't be easily discarded anyway.
Yet, Sir Sren intended to pour out all his remaining cards.
'...Since it's come to this, I want to carve my name into her legend!'
Later, when she has grown, she will surely remember the name of the one she met in her budding period.
No, I'll make her remember.
Thinking that, Sir Sren felt meaning was born in his hitherto dull and dry life as a knight.
"Got... you!"
'As expected... splendid.'
Thwaaang! Crack!
The defeat that came to Sir Sren as foreseen. Finally, her decisive blow sent his sword flying, embedding it in the ground, and her sword was pointed at his throat.
Her sweat-dampened light blonde hair and the eyes of Sir Heidi, now filled with the sense of accomplishment of finally catching up, felt overwhelmingly brilliant.
Sir Sren, thinking he would surely never forget this sight, closed his eyes and declared.
"...I admit defeat."
"Thi... this! Useless fool! You should have finished it earlier! Sir Sren! How did this happen? Aren't you the best duelist in our family? How can you lose?"
"My apologies, Young Master."
He felt sorry for not delivering victory to his lord, but on the other hand, he felt relieved, and joy swirled in his heart.
Surely because he was confident that this future legend had taken a step forward due to his sword.
Of course, it was merely a realm of self-satisfaction that no one would acknowledge, but he still felt proud, thinking he had done something meaningful as a 'knight'.
"Anyway, the victory is decided, and since we fought with honor at stake, we must receive our due. Senior."
"Hic! Ugh! Tha... that's right, how much was it again? Her... Her Highness the Princess's honor, as much as that would be..."
Yuris couldn't hide his dismay.
The 'Princess's honor' he had grandly claimed. How on earth could one quantify that amount?
If he set it low, he himself would be the one diminishing 'Her Highness the Princess's honor'. If he set it high, there would be a problem paying that amount.
How could he escape this crisis? As Yuris pondered, Beonald looked at Sir Sren, kneeling beside him with his head bowed, and spoke.
"Well, fine. Thanks to you, our Sir Heidi learned a lot. Let's consider the tuition fee as the payment."
"Huh? Lord Beonald?"
"Then we'll be on our way now, Senior Yuris, Sir Sren. Heidi, if you've gained any insights, show proper courtesy."
"Ah! Yes! I, truly thank you. Well then!"
And so, Beonald's party left. Yuris looked at Sir Sren with a bewildered expression, but he remained silent, maintaining his posture, merely offering silent gratitude in his heart to the knight who remembered him and her lord.
And Beonald's party, because Heidi had sweated so much from the duel and wasted a lot of time, gave up on going to a decent restaurant, deciding instead to buy ingredients and return to their lodgings to eat.
Thus ended the eventful first day of the entrance ceremony.
A few days later, Academy Commoner Department.
From the start, nobles and commoners had different career directions, so what they learned in the Academy's separate departments also differed.
The Noble Department listed majors like politics, diplomacy, economics, knighthood, military science, etc.—educations for the ruling class. The Commoner Department had subjects like mathematics, general administration & commerce, and those supported by guilds like blacksmithing. Depending on such support, many would disappear or newly appear, making them countless.
"So... to increase the efficiency of organizational personnel management..."
Beonald had applied for the General Administration major. As Deren had asked yesterday, 'You want to become a bureaucrat?', the major he applied for was the utterly mundane General Administration. However, this wasn't for himself, but to have Sein learn.
"Act natural. If you act suspicious, they'll find it odd."
"Ye, yes. Lord Beonald."
Under the pretext of having her take notes for the class, Beonald sat her beside him to listen to the lecture, while he himself pretended to listen to her explanations, researching books he had bought from the old bookstore.
He wasn't sure if this acting would work, but in this lecture hall, there were even those who, unlike Beonald who at least showed up, were drunk and had servants or proxies attend the class for them.
'First of all... they're all adults, and it's their own responsibility, but it's still astounding.'
They were mostly sons of wealthy merchants or businessmen. Perhaps they weren't diligent because it wasn't a major they chose themselves, but still, it was ridiculous that they were not only kicking away a learning opportunity not everyone could have, but also wasting time.
'Well, in the end, it's their own business. But Sein is... Actually, I forced her into this, but she's doing well. Good for her.'
In Sein's case, she was originally a maid. With no trustworthy personnel currently available, it was practically forced studying. He knew she was in a position where she couldn't resist, but still, he was very grateful that she was focusing without the slightest negligence.
After all, unless one had clear ambition or purpose like himself, studying was often a painful ordeal.
"Alright, that's all for today's class. I sincerely hope you proxies will inform the students of the class content. Well then~"
And as time passed and today's class ended, Sein immediately put down her pen, closed her book, and then slumped forward, complaining of fatigue.
Having concentrated for so long with her lord right beside her, it was perhaps a natural outcome.
"Phew~ It's over. Ah, I'm sorry. Lord Beonald."
"No, no. It's fine. You can relax. I know well how exhausting mental work is. It's normal for people to rest when tired. Besides, this was originally due to my pressure..."
"No. It's alright. This much is... It's much better than when I was forced by the Madam to learn this and that."
Compared to a lifetime spent in the service of personalities like the Royen Viscountcy or Lady Meira—who were not only terrible in character but also used violence, mobilizing her as a discarded piece in all sorts of covert struggles and ambushes, living in fear of being discarded—Beonald was like an angel descended from heaven.
Thus, she was determined to give her all to become the talent he desired, if only to never leave his side.
"Anyway, let's head out."
"Yes."
"Here you are! Lord Beonald!"
At that moment, a familiar voice reached Beonald's ears.
Turning his head, he saw a handsome man with deep brown skin running towards him excitedly.
It was Deren, from a merchant family. Beonald grimaced at the sight of that leech-like tenacity, but Deren still wore an unwavering merchant's smile as he reached Beonald.
"Phew~ Found you! The map!"
"Huh...?"
"Look here."
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
What he held out wasn't a simple map, but a thick bundle of documents.
Beonald looked at it, puzzled, but soon understood.
Each document was both a map and a map fragment. The realization was that piecing them together would form a massive map.
Having realized that, Beonald couldn't help but feel intrigued.