Chapter 27
Chapter 27
A group of kids sat in a neat row on the training ground's grassy field.
And surprisingly enough,
I was one of them.
The eight years I had spent begging and pestering Sir Rekun had finally paid off!
"Hehehe...!"
Was this a dream or reality?
Maybe it really was a dream. I should pinch my nose just to make sure.
A faint sting spread through my nose, and somehow that tiny pain only made me more excited.
Grinning unconsciously, I looked toward the old man.
"Hmm. Did the cold weather finally cook your brain?"
"..."
Yep.
Judging by how harsh he was as always, this was definitely our old man.
Still, would it kill him to smile along with me just once?
And seriously?
Was that really something you should say to a ten-year-old kid?
Sir, I may have never raised children or even dated anyone before, but I feel qualified to say this much.
Please leave all child-rearing duties to Lady Lucester.
What if one of the kids grows up twisted because you keep grilling them with that attitude?
"...Whew."
He really shouldn't be so harsh on children.
As his disciple, I was genuinely worried about my master's future family life.
"You brat. Are you criticizing me in your head?"
...How did he know?
Still, I couldn't exactly answer honestly.
I had only just become an apprentice. I should leave a good impression.
"Kahahaha! Of course not, Master!"
At times like this, the correct answer was to flash a hearty smile and move on.
Look.
Sir Rekun even turned his head away as if he accepted the explanation.
"...Tsk."
Though it looked more like he was staring at me as if I were hopeless.
Or maybe as if I were someone best avoided.
...Must be my imagination.
"You're not in your right mind. Though that does sound like you."
Wait a second.
Was that an insult or a compliment?
Was he making fun of me just now?
...Anyway.
The day had finally come when I could call Sir Rekun my master.
That alone felt incredibly meaningful.
The training ground had always been a place I could only enter on special occasions.
But now it was practically my territory...
Well, not really.
And my official appointment as an apprentice knight wouldn't happen until next year.
Still.
Just being able to train alongside the other children filled me with satisfaction.
Sir Rekun might be strict, but the quality of his lessons was excellent, so I couldn't complain much.
As a result—
"Hehehe..."
A smile naturally spread across my face.
The old man might scold me again, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Come one, come all, people of the neighborhood.
Who am I?
An apprentice knight of Kaltenberg.
And who is my master?
The champion of Kaltenberg.
Ha-cha-cha.
My shoulders bounced with excitement.
I shook my head for no reason while looking around at the weapons.
And on a wonderful day like today, smiling was only natural.
"Sera, your smile is so cute!"
Anna, this is one of those moments where you're supposed to call me cool, not cute.
"Hmph! You'll be lucky if you don't quit halfway through!"
Bungbung, could you keep your mouth shut for once?
"Ahem!"
Still, training was training.
We wouldn't be swinging weapons today, but that didn't mean I could take things lightly.
No matter what you do, whether it's work or an exam, there are always two requirements.
Theory and practice.
Written tests and practical tests.
Both mattered.
"Attention, everyone!"
The booming voice pierced the air, drawing the attention of every child present, myself included.
"What you'll be learning today is more important than usual, so pay close attention."
The apprentices of Kaltenberg normally spent six out of every seven days training.
One of those six days was reserved for theory lessons like today's.
Honestly, after spending so much time swinging swords, these lessons made me restless.
But whether it was because Sir Rekun was a good teacher or because the curriculum itself was excellent, the content was always worthwhile.
I never felt like my time was being wasted.
And even if I did complain, what could I do about it?
I'd just have to sit there and listen.
"You all know some of this already, but today's topic concerns potential threats."
Potential threats.
The moment I heard those words, I could already guess what was coming.
"In the future, it won't just be bandits and monsters you need to watch out for. The ruffians of Latlan have settled into the region."
Latlan.
The name referred to all the surrounding territories, including Bellark Castle.
And the ruffians referred to the five powers that dominated the region.
Well, six if you included us.
Though calling Bellark a power felt a bit embarrassing.
In the end, Bellark was basically just Sir Rekun carrying everything by himself.
Maybe we shouldn't even count.
...It felt a little bitter.
Back when Bellark was a kingdom, it ruled not only all of Latlan but also twenty territories of similar size.
Now it struggled to hold even part of one.
History confirmed it.
I couldn't even begin to imagine what Bellark's golden age must have been like.
"Regardless, they're undoubtedly the greatest troublemakers in Latlan. They're nothing like regular armies. It wouldn't be surprising if any of them arrived here at any time."
Sir Rekun looked down on them and called them ruffians, but they certainly weren't weak.
Latlan wasn't particularly fertile, but it covered an area nearly half the size of Gyeonggi Province.
Dividing such a massive territory among five factions meant each leader had to be formidable.
"I'll start with the closest faction. That means the horse-head."
Master.
Did you really just call him horse-head?
You're a nobleman, even if your family has fallen.
What happened to your vocabulary?
Though...
It wasn't exactly wrong.
The leader of the first faction was a centaur.
The Kakan of the Black Horn Tribe, if I remembered correctly.
Kakan was the strongest centaur in Latlan.
Unlike most of his kind, who possessed white horns, he had been born with black horns, making him a mutant among centaurs.
I learned later that Gawen, the centaur warrior I had tried to recruit eight years ago, had originally been driven away by Kakan and forced to settle here.
Wasn't that absurd?
The only thing I had seen back then was a corpse.
But Gawen had been a monstrous giant twice the size of a human.
To think there was someone who had overpowered such a creature through sheer strength.
Right now, I couldn't even imagine challenging him.
Centaurs constantly fought large monsters such as trolls and ogres for territory and dominance.
If that was true, just how powerful would their leader be?
"..."
Maybe he was the strongest among all the ruffians when it came to raw combat ability.
Centaurs were simply that superior as a race in battle.
"Viscount Tebian isn't a sane man, but he's at least someone you can talk to. Not every problem requires a sword. Try to resolve matters through conversation whenever possible."
The second figure was Viscount Tebian, a disgraced knight who had been driven all the way out here after being dishonorably discharged.
Rumor said he had been expelled for abusing and murdering his subordinates.
His own defense was that such actions had been necessary to maintain discipline during wartime.
Who knew?
I didn't know the details.
But considering his reputation, he hardly sounded normal.
Even Sir Rekun openly stated that the viscount wasn't right in the head.
Avoiding him altogether was probably the best choice.
"Kraxion is the leader of criminals, so don't expect room for compromise. Your future achievements may determine how we deal with him, but for now, resolving conflicts through dialogue is impossible."
Kraxion was a mercenary known as the Butcher.
After murdering the guild master who expelled him, he gathered bandits, convicts, and mercenaries under his banner.
Currently, he was in conflict with the Lord of the Forest.
A giant standing over two meters tall.
A man who wielded twin axes.
And someone capable of using Aura.
There was no denying he was powerful.
If he hadn't committed such serious crimes, he probably would have risen to great heights.
Instead, his temper had turned him into the king of criminals.
Clearly not a normal person.
"Altrevis won't draw his blade unless you trespass into his territory. Simply avoid provoking him. And just because he's more reasonable than the others doesn't mean you need to negotiate with him."
The final individual Sir Rekun mentioned was Altrevis.
The Lord of the Forest.
A cruel elf who controlled the surrounding woodlands.
"If you offend him even once, he'll find a way to make you pay for it."
The elves of this world were nothing like the image I had imagined.
Though Selin, Sir Rekun's wife, matched that image perfectly.
In fact, the more time passed, the more I realized that kind and gentle elves like her were actually rare.
The elves here were obsessed with protecting their territories.
Extremely conservative.
Extremely sensitive.
Some even claimed they were three times more temperamental than ordinary humans.
At this point, I had no desire to associate with them.
People always say that beautiful faces come with beautiful hearts...
But the elves of this world seemed determined to disprove that saying.
Well...
Maybe they were like that because so many people constantly trespassed through their forests.
Thinking of it that way, I could understand them to some extent.
Still, I didn't feel any need to be friendly toward the local elves.
"Lastly, the Frost Giant living in the mountains... well, you'll learn about him eventually."
The reason Sir Rekun sounded so indifferent was simple.
"He's all the way at the edge of Latlan. You're unlikely to encounter him."
Unlike the other factions, the Frost Giant had only settled there this year.
Nobody knew much about him.
There wasn't much to say.
Sir Rekun couldn't simply abandon Bellark and travel across the territory just to see him in person.
Most of the information came from occasional travelers passing through.
The only widely known rumor was that he appeared to be a gigantic member of the human race.
That was all.
"They command forces ranging from dozens to thousands. Since you're vastly outnumbered, you must never provoke them unless Bellark itself is threatened."
Sir Rekun continued the lesson for several more sijin.
The overall message was simple.
Avoid leaving the territory unless absolutely necessary.
Never forget how few allies you have.
Stay quiet.
Focus on protecting Bellark.
It wasn't the glorious path of a knight seeking fame and fortune.
But it was realistic.
Besides, the only knight in the region capable of training others was the twisted Viscount Tebian.
We didn't exactly have many options.
Eventually, as the lesson came to an end, a question surfaced in my mind.
How strong was Valten's group?
The bandit knight who had harmed Eden.
Seven years had passed since then.
Yet the memory remained as vivid as yesterday.
His overwhelming presence.
His monstrous strength.
Those blue eyes burning like flames.
And that twisted smile warped by amusement.
If I became strong enough to defeat one of these warlords...
Would I finally be able to cross swords with that bandit knight?
...If I was curious, all I had to do was ask.
Maybe things had been different before.
But now, satisfying such curiosity wasn't difficult anymore.
Wasn't that right?
I could ask questions now.
"Hehe..."
Because I finally had a master.