Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Midnight Lessons
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Jayvolg, who was accompanying me, asked in disbelief.
"Young Master, you're heading out to the streets in the middle of the night?"
"I've been cooped up inside too long, and it's suffocating. If you vouch for me, the family will allow it, right?"
"Hmm..."
Maybe it was because they treated me like an invalid.
Unfortunately, I couldn't easily slip out alone at night like this.
I considered sneaking away, but fooling the Pador Family knights wasn't simple.
Not yet, since my training was still lacking.
Jayvolg pondered alone for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.
"Haha! You're right. Who could doubt my word?"
Was that just wishful thinking on his part?
Well, thanks to him, we naturally slipped out of the estate.
The bustling square came into view.
Clowns performed circus acts in front of the fountain, while bards sang to liven up the mood.
People gathered in small groups at nearby shops, sipping drinks or enjoying the night breeze.
Was that why I'd come out?
Partly, but there was a bigger reason.
To find Ralph Pador, that bastard.
I sniffed the air, following the scent.
During our handshake, I'd coated him with tracking incense. It was a smell that wouldn't wash off for at least a week.
Days had passed with him still holed up in the Pador estate, so I'd been pondering how to discipline him.
But thankfully, the idiot had come out.
In other words, here, he could evade the knights' eyes.
Perfect.
The lesson I had in mind was going to be a bit rough.
West... yeah, west.
Not far. I could get there quickly.
"Jayvolg."
"Yes."
"I'll wander the market alone for a bit. You go handle whatever business you have."
"Are you sure? If you're alone, Young Master...!"
"Jayvolg, don't you remember that time?"
I pulled a needle from my sleeve. Seeing it, Jayvolg cleared his throat as if recalling a nightmare.
"Come to think of it, I do have some business!"
"That's more like it."
"Yes, then!"
With Jayvolg gone, time to have some fun.
On the way to Ralph Pador, I bought a piece of leather from a general store and roughly punched eye holes in it.
That took care of the mask.
Now, what was this punk up to out here?
Following the scent led me straight to a tavern. It was tucked away, secretive, with even lookouts posted.
The sign made me chuckle.
One more reason to whip him.
Whatever happened here, they couldn't report it.
[Giant's Brew.]
A tavern strictly forbidden to Pador Family members until adulthood.
If they complained about getting beaten, they'd have to admit going to a bar.
How lucky could I get?
I checked carefully for knights, but no presence that strong.
They'd clearly snuck out.
I climbed onto the roof, avoiding the lookouts' eyes.
They weren't Pador knights; dealing with those guards was child's play.
I settled on the roof section reeking strongest of the toilet-like stench from the tracking incense and used wind manipulation to create a tiny gap.
Through it, I saw several kids throwing a massive drinking party.
Ralph Pador and the ones who'd mocked me earlier.
Birds of a feather flock together, huh.
An eternal truth.
These punks were already deep into it.
I considered striking immediately, but... maybe listen in first?
I might hear something useful.
The horse-faced kid with the corn cob mug— the one who'd laughed loudest— poured fruit wine for Ralph.
"Ralph, thank you. For setting this up for us!"
Ralph casually took the cup.
"What's hard about investing in my future comrades? We're practically brothers now."
"Brothers? How could we..."
"Hmph. Deyan, that trash cousin of mine, is nothing compared to you. I don't care about bloodlines. Skill matters! What makes you guys so bad? Your parents are all elite knights, and you've got talent! Why would I betray you?!"
Moved by his words, the pig-faced one groveled, sniffling.
"Thank you, Ralph!"
Finally, the weasel-faced one with slit eyes and buck teeth raised his cup slyly.
"To Ralph and our three knights!"
"Cheers!"
These bastards.
I memorized every face.
Unforgettable freakish looks, and the Three Knights.
Human trash who'd tarnished every honor of the Pador Family.
Trash Ralph and his ragtag crew.
They'd relentlessly bullied me with him.
Speak of the devil, all gathered now. Perfect chance to torment... er, educate them extra special.
Ralph's group chugged desperately, like someone might snatch it away.
"Ugh...! That's the stuff. The family's so stuffy. Why ban alcohol? We're not kids; a few more years and we're adults!"
Emboldened by booze, Ralph criticized the family. The pig one eagerly agreed.
"Exactly. Sigh, Pador traditions are ridiculous. When you become patriarch, Ralph, change it!"
But the other two frowned, tilting their heads.
"Still... even if Deyan's trash, the others aren't. Your cousins... both of them, wow."
"True. Ras is already captaining a knight order, and Mihail's fame spreads across the continent as a squire."
Ralph bristled at mention of his cousins, glaring with axe eyes.
Bang!
He slammed his cup down, making the others flinch.
"You saying I'm inferior to my cousins?! Huh?!"
"N-no, that's not..."
"Just watch. I'll surpass them all!"
The others exchanged glances and refilled his cup.
"Of course. We believe in you, Ralph! Hahaha!"
Surpass them?
Not even fit to lick their toenails.
Ralph wasn't in the same league as his brothers.
He was a soup bowl—no, maybe a rice bowl.
His brothers? Bowls tens, hundreds of times larger.
Different classes entirely.
Without them... the Pador Family's fall would've come sooner.
That's certain.
Even they couldn't stop the decline.
The enemy was a massive shadow devouring everything.
Anyway, no need to hear more drivel.
Just petty gossip and mutual bootlicking.
I lounged leisurely, gazing at the night sky, until they wrapped up.
Having snuck out at night, they'd avoid main streets.
Sure enough.
They headed into a deserted back alley.
Heading to class on their own.
Good boys.
I followed stealthily. They stuck to empty spots, tails practically showing.
Time to start?
First up for discipline: you, horse-face.
"Ralph, remember this? 'Gotta run away.'"
Horse-face mimicked me, cackling happily.
"He said it just like... Huh?!"
Thud!
"...?!"
Ralph and the others froze, staring at horse-face.
His lips were sealed shut like a padlock. The problem? Sealed with needles, like staples.
"Mmmph...!"
Horse-face frantically tried to pull them out, but it only brought more pain.
"Wh-what?"
"A martial artist's virtue is vigilance, anytime, anywhere. Engrave it well."
The sudden voice made the others draw swords, scanning around.
"Who's there!"
Tell you?
Meanwhile, horse-face's lips swelled rapidly. I could've knocked him out instantly, but no.
Let him feel how much shit that mouth spewed.
The Tang Clan repays one strike with a hundred.
"Which bastard is it?! Show yourself!"
As they scanned wildly, I slipped gracefully to the center and poked weasel's back with my finger.
"To find your foe, use not just eyes, but all senses."
"Gyaack...!"
Weasel yelped in terror, swinging his sword backward.
But I'd already moved. His swing headed straight for Ralph.
Clang!
"What the hell!"
Ralph, true to Pador blood, parried the surprise attack.
"Uh, uh, that was..."
As weasel panicked, I yanked pig-face by the crown of his head, dragging him to the roof.
"Aaaah! Help!"
He flailed like a squid pulled from water, away from his group.
I hauled the terrified pig deeper into the alley.
Thud!
"Guh!"
I slammed him against a dead-end wall and bent his knee.
"You're trembling."
Pig squealed like a pig to slaughter.
"H-heek! Why, why me?! Do you know who I am?!"
"One tip: when cornered, stay calmer than anyone."
"Bullshit!"
Poor student, hopeless.
"Can't teach what won't stick. If it were me, I'd plot survival, scan terrain with eyes, distract foes with words nonstop."
Crunch!
I stomped several pressure points with my foot.
Then...
Drip...
"Eeeek..."
Every orifice spewed fluids.
Ew, stuffed himself silly.
Meanwhile, footsteps approached. I melted back into shadows.
"Adolf...?"
"Ugh...! The smell!"
Ralph and weasel pinched noses, ignoring pig.
Brothers moments ago, now discarded for filth...
Pathetic.
Weasel glanced fearfully at Ralph.
"R-Ralph! Let's run... We gotta run!"
"Run...?"
Ralph grabbed weasel's collar.
"Like that Deyan said?!"
"Heeek...!"
"No cowardly shit!"
Ralph shoved weasel. Stumbling, weasel persisted.
"But we can't help it! Like Deyan said, this is... f-for the future—no, the estate's right there! The knights...!"
"Shut up!"
No need to dirty my hands—Ralph punched weasel out cold.
Well then.
That's why wise counsel makes kings dance with swords.
Fool.
Ralph gripped his sword two-handed, bellowing to shake fear.
"Come out, you dog! Show yourself! Coward! Can't fight face-to-face?!"
Stupid punk, lose your mind.
"Fine, if you insist."
I stepped from shadows. Ralph backpedaled.
"Hnnng...! Coward! Come out now?"
"Dunno why punks like you do this. Win any way you can. We're both risking lives—you with sword, me with needle. Same?"
"Shut up! Filthy rat thief!"
Ralph was unhinged.
Won't listen? Then beating's the answer.
"Fine, sword it is, as you wish."
I picked up weasel's sheathed sword without drawing it.
Seeing it, Ralph charged smugly.
"Regret showing yourself...!"
Thwack!
"Guheok!"
One to the gut.
"Failing to gauge foe: first demerit."
His face crumpled.
"Gauged but denied, knocking out ally to narrow escape: second."
One to the jaw.
"Kueeek...!"
His body flew, bowing like a bow.
"Huuuuh...!"
"Stubborn arrogance making you reckless: third. Fail."
Then... shoulder, chest, thigh, calf.
I thrashed thoroughly with the sheath.
No need for swordplay.
No cleaver for chicken—or trash like this.
Even that sword-mad instructor would get it.
Wham!
"Wh-who... are you..."
"Idiot without learning capacity—if I wanted to tell, would I do this?"
Wearing a mask, even.
"And snitch if you want. No bruises to show."
I'd inflicted pure internal damage, no marks.
Fit for their station. Muscles would scream.
"Heeek!"
Despite the ground, Ralph flailed like drowning.
Finally. Gripped sheath like a golf club, twisted waist at Ralph.
Splat...!
"Shouldn't have started grudges... Er, hmm...!"
Good they're all out.
Habit, scary thing.
Not petty revenge, right?
As an adult, senior in life, just teaching.
That's it.
All good intentions.
In my Dark Venerable days, lines formed for my lessons.
Lucky kids, this private seminar.
I'm too kind.
"Build bones and flesh from this, punks."
Messy, pathetic—suits them.
Especially Ralph Pador, wild colt ignorant of place. Later abandoned by parents. Tsk. Pitiful.
Poor thing, even I must look after him.
How magnanimous I am.
After handling Ralph's crew, I headed to the central square fountain to meet Jayvolg...
He waited, arms full of stuff.
"Jayvolg, what's that?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Closer look: wooden swords, his name engraved on each.
Jayvolg grinned sheepishly.
"Oh? The forge said these were good, so I grabbed some. Practice swords. Nice, right?"
"..."
"Want to try one, Young Master? They fit like a glove, ugh..."
This sword zealot never changes.
Give up. Everyone has their path.
I waved it off.
"Pass. You use them. But why wooden? You could've bought steel."
"Ah, I learned much from our duel. Until I forge my own style, no real swords!"
"Fine... Do as you like."
No point stopping him if he loves it.
"Anyway, Jayvolg. Want to tour more alleys? Join me?"
"Of course."
I led Jayvolg into alleys, wandering innocently to avoid suspicion...
Until Ralph's dark alley.
"Hm...?"
Jayvolg perked ears at some sound.
Grabbed a wooden sword and bolted toward it.
Yes, find them, Jayvolg! So no one suspects me!
I followed leisurely, pleased.
And there...
"Kuh... Aaaah!"
Horse-face, unable to speak, writhing.
Weasel out cold, nose bloody.
Pig covered in filth.
Ralph worst off.
Utter humiliation.
I did it, but satisfying.
Like viewing art.
"Wh-what the!"
Jayvolg recognized them, rushed over. I hid my glee, shouting.
"Jayvolg! Not now. Get them to the estate first!"
I hoisted Ralph piggyback and ran. Stunned, Jayvolg followed to Pador estate.
Guards at the gate hurried out.
"Y-Young Master?!"
"R-Ralph too? The others... What happened?!"
"Get them to the family doctors, quick!"
"Y-yes!"
Guards supported them. Soon, Pador knights swarmed the gate.
As they gathered, I shouted to all.
"They were ambushed! Find the culprit! Probably still nearby!"
"Yes!"
Pador knights rushed past.
Search forever; culprit's here.
"Young Master, you okay? I'll carry Ralph!"
Guard captain.
"I'm fine. Ralph's hurt—I want to help!"
"Young Master..."
Guard captain's eyes brimmed with favor. Others too.
"Pador spirit lives in Deyan Young Master."
"Ashamed we can't match him as adults..."
Yes, watch and gossip.
Spread word of Pador's kind youngest, helping despite illness.
Finally... the finishing touch.
Thud!
"Y-Young Master! You okay?"
Guard captain and soldiers caught my near-fall.
"Ugh...!"
I wiped non-sweat sweat, replying.
"F-fine..."
Guard captain shook head.
"Rest, Young Master! Your noble spirit's noted! What are you waiting for? Escort the Young Masters!"
"Yes!"
Ah... I have acting talent.
Ralph carted away. My smile deepened.
Perfect end to a fun day.