Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Evan's Past
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Evan readjusted his grip on his sword and assumed his stance once more. Vice-Captain Aaron watched him, tilting his head slightly as he spoke.
"Sir, I won't go easy on you just because you're tired."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"My build may be small, but I'm not that easy to handle."
"I'm not underestimating you, Vice-Captain. That guy took notice of you, after all."
"……?"
The vice-captain glanced back at Nihil, following Evan's gaze, wondering what he meant.
Lianus bounced up and down in place, speaking on behalf of his speechless best friend.
"My best friend says you should watch out for the vice-captain! He said you're the strongest dual-sword user out there!"
"...So that's why you've been staring at me so intensely, like I'm covered in goosebumps—no, so obsessively? But... Your Highness's friend... how could he know my level...?"
"My best friend knows everything!"
Lianus puffed out his chest proudly, as if bragging about his friend. Aaron looked at him awkwardly and asked,
"...I heard he can't speak or write. How do you two communicate?"
"Ah... um... well... Communication doesn't have to be through words or writing."
Lianus rolled his eyes as he said that, then quickly ducked behind Nihil. Still, he seemed pleased with his excuse, smiling smugly and whispering, 'Did I do good?'
Nihil found Lianus so adorable that he patted his head, then suddenly hoisted him up and handed him over to Walter.
"……?"
Walter unexpectedly found himself holding the prince, who was tilting his head in confusion while dangling from his friend's arms. It looked just like a cat passing off its kitten, so he couldn't bring himself to scold him for being rude.
He'd thought it ever since the last escort mission, but the little kid the prince had picked up seemed incredibly strong.
"Damn lynx bastard, don't be rude to the Captain!"
"It's fine, Sir Evan. It's better if I hold him to keep him safe, anyway."
"...My apologies."
"No harm done. There's no malice behind it."
Walter said that, then adjusted his hold on Lianus so the prince could watch the spar comfortably.
Evan was strong, but he wouldn't beat the vice-captain. He was already exhausted, and even Walter acknowledged the vice-captain's skill.
Sure enough, not long after the spar began, the young knight started getting pushed back bit by bit.
For his age, he was handling it remarkably well, but he was more accustomed to hunting monsters and beasts than fighting people, while the vice-captain had far more experience against humans. It was only natural.
At that moment, Evan, who had been gripping his sword with both hands, released one hand and began twitching it repeatedly. Watching this, Walter narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.
'He's starting to get pressured, so his old childhood habit is coming out.'
As a child, Evan had sometimes relied too much on his sturdy build and made bold attempts, one of which was grabbing the blade barehanded.
He must have picked it up from fighting monsters desperately without proper sword training, but it wasn't a good habit. One day, Walter had scolded him harshly for it.
'Evan! Didn't I tell you not to grab the blade with your bare hands! If this had been a sharpened real sword, your fingers would already be sliced off!'
'...S-Sorry.'
'This won't do. Starting tomorrow, find a heavy sword—one you can only swing with both hands.'
'Y-Yes, sir!'
That day, he only drilled the basics with Evan and handed him a pouch of money to go buy a sword. He'd considered getting one himself but decided letting the boy pick it out would be a valuable experience.
But Walter regretted that decision the very next day. The sword the boy brought back was a "true two-hander" as tall as he was.
It had been absurd back then, and it still was now.
At first, Walter thought it was just youthful bravado. But the boy's eyes were serious, and when he said he'd swung them all himself, Walter could only slap his forehead.
The smithy had even recommended swords suited to his size. But because Walter had specified a "heavy sword you can only swing with both hands," the boy had ignored everything else and prioritized that condition, picking a true two-hander—a failed product made overly heavy from a botched metal mix.
And even then, the young boy had been thrilled that he had money left over after buying the subpar sword.
'Ha...'
Remembering that, Walter let out an involuntary chuckle.
Come to think of it, it had been eight years since he first met Evan. During a pre-scouting mission for a monster subjugation, he'd rescued a boy being chased by an orc pack—that was their first encounter.
The boy had been on the verge of being captured and torn apart by orcs, but despite his ragged appearance, he had no major injuries, so Walter sent him home with some ointment and a handwarmer pouch.
But the next day, he spotted the boy in the forest again, and Walter grabbed him for a scolding.
'What are you thinking, coming back to the forest!'
'I-I have to hunt monsters.'
As it turned out, the boy had entered the forest to hunt monsters from the start and was already an experienced hunter who'd taken down plenty of small ones like goblins.
'It's dangerous. Why risk hunting monsters?'
'I have a little sister! She's still tiny and super cute. But raising a kid costs a lot of money. So as her big brother, I have to earn a ton.'
The boy had grinned brightly as he flexed his arm. He'd originally hunted beasts and sold the byproducts, but after hearing monster parts fetched higher prices, he'd been hunting them nonstop since his mother got pregnant.
From that day, Walter trained Evan's swordsmanship for about three years. As vice-captain back then, he wasn't idle and could only manage once or twice a month, but the practice bug caught up quickly anyway.
The year Evan turned fifteen, Walter recommended he take the royal squire knight exam. The royal exams were notoriously tough, with high passing bars, so failure was likely—but even then, Walter planned to take him as a squire in his own house.
And properly teach him from there. Their vague mentor-student relationship could become official.
'Yes, sir! I'll pass for sure and live up to your expectations!'
The boy had responded to his advice with shining eyes.
After that, Walter got busy and couldn't visit for a while, but he wasn't worried. The kid had followed him so faithfully.
But perhaps he'd misjudged. Evan never showed up for the squire exam. No—he later checked and found the boy wasn't even on the applicant list.
Walter wondered if the still-illiterate Evan had written his name wrong and attended the exam until the final day, but he never saw him.
'......'
'Something wrong, Vice-Captain?'
'...No, Captain. It's nothing.'
'Doesn't look like nothing.'
'...The kid I'm looking for isn't on the applicant list. Is this all of them? Any no-shows?'
'Entry fee's a whopping 50 gold. Most applicants are kids from fallen noble houses who can't even afford to raise knights properly—who'd pay that and skip? What's the name? Let's check together.'
'No need. I've been too busy to check on him lately... Guess I forgot.'
Walter smiled bitterly. There was no way a commoner like Evan had 50 gold, of course. He'd covered the fee himself. Maybe the boy had gotten cold feet after receiving such a large sum.
Walter consoled himself that it was understandable. 50 gold wasn't a huge amount for a noble like him.
He was just a bit... disappointed, since the kid had followed him so well.
After that day, Walter stopped visiting Evan. Showing up would just make things awkward for the boy. Maybe he'd even moved somewhere better with his family by now.
'Vice-Captain, when's your monthly leave this month? Don't want it overlapping mine.'
'Ah, no more trips out, so no need to worry.'
'Really? ...Ahem, actually, I have a favor to ask.'
'Anything, Captain.'
'Can you cover for me at the formal knight commissioning exam? You'll be captain soon anyway, so why not?'
'You can just say you're too lazy. Anyway, formal knight exam... you mean the squire promotions?'
'No, the direct commissioning one.'
'That barely needs judging, right?'
The knight commissioning exam was made for noble kids who hated slogging as squires and wanted the title outright.
The requirement was simple: just be an 'Aura user.'
Judging amounted to weeding out those who didn't qualify.
'Yeah. Just filter out the bribe kids and anyone who seems unfit for squad life.'
'Got it.'
Walter nodded readily to the captain's request. With no outings, he had time to spare.
And on exam day, after brushing off a few valets trying to slip bribes, Walter spotted a familiar-looking boy standing blankly among the noble kids in shabby clothes.
'......Evan?'
'Vice-Captain?'
The boy spotted him and ran over with a bright grin.
'Vice-Captain!'
Walter hadn't expected to see Evan at the formal knight exam and asked awkwardly,
'How... are you here?'
'You told me to take the knight exam, didn't you? So I came!'
Something heavy lifted from his chest at those words. At the same time, he felt deeply sorry for not trusting the boy to the end and judging him prematurely.
Still, he was thrilled, so Walter laughed out loud despite himself and patted the now-grown boy's back—he was nearly as tall as Walter now.
'I see. I thought... Never mind, good to see you. It's been too long.'
Walter didn't point out the botched exam application. He was just overjoyed the boy hadn't betrayed him. Must've misread the letters or something.
He had no idea how a kid without bribe money had applied, but probably some lazy clerk overlooked it.
Evan couldn't use Aura yet, so he'd fail anyway, but Walter would take him into his house, so it didn't matter.
Talented kid—proper training, and he'd wield Aura soon enough. With that thought, he began the judging.
But who could've known? In the two months Walter hadn't seen him, Evan had become an Aura user.
He even flattened all the prim noble kids and took top score.
But Walter couldn't pass him outright. Precisely because of his skill... that much more so.
If a mere 15-year-old commoner who skipped squire training became a full knight—and top of the class, beating all the nobles—would his knight life be smooth?
No, it wouldn't.
Walter came to that conclusion and bit his lip.