Chapter 28
Chapter 28
As I've said many times before, I've always been interested in power rankings born from differences in strength.
I have no intention of dressing it up as something sophisticated.
The truth is, I simply enjoy childish debates about who would win.
For example, Tiger vs Lion.
America vs the Entire World.
Baseball Bat vs Dagger.
Things like that.
If we're being broad about it, topics like "Who is the greatest fighter in VFC history?" or "Who is the strongest character in this manga universe?" count too.
On the other hand, I have absolutely no interest in things like Sauce-Pourer vs Sauce-Dipper, Summer vs Winter, or Soccer vs Basketball.
Those are lifestyle choices people can settle themselves.
I don't find them interesting.
When did I first become fascinated with such trivial subjects?
I'm not entirely sure.
But my previous life as a professional fighter probably played a role.
I often imagined matchups between fighters who had never faced each other and used those comparisons to gauge my own abilities.
Whether those thoughts had meaning or not wasn't important.
I wanted to know because it was fun.
Because it was part of my daily life.
A hobby.
If you think about it, measuring relative strength might be one of the most basic male instincts.
Maybe the fact that I still enjoy this sort of thing is proof that I'm still a man at heart.
"Sera."
"...Hm?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"...Grown-up things?"
If you think about it, they really were.
Children don't normally think about things like this...
Probably.
"Umm? Anyway, after class, I'll show you my new doll, okay?"
"A new doll?"
"Yep! You really liked that horse doll I showed you last time! But this one isn't just a horse. It's a completely black stallion!"
"..."
...What nonsense was she talking about?
Honestly, girls that age seemed incredibly prone to misunderstandings.
Apparently, she had mistaken my efforts to be polite for genuine interest.
More importantly, why was she suddenly talking about dolls during class?
"And you still have that knight doll the lord gave you, right? If you put him on the black horse, it'll look super cool!"
Hmm.
Actually, that might look pretty good.
And Anna also had a princess doll, so if we did a role-playing game—
Wait.
That's not the point.
"Anna, stop it. Class is still going on."
"Then we'll play dolls together afterward, right?"
"...If you stay quiet."
"Hehe, okay!"
This was driving me crazy.
Playing with dolls at eleven years old?
I wasn't even interested, yet how many times had I already been dragged into this?
Anna.
Shouldn't you start growing out of this by now?
Back in my previous life, most kids had already graduated from doll games by that age.
...Wait.
Could it be—
Do girls in this world play with dolls longer?
Considering how few forms of entertainment existed here, it would make sense.
But that didn't apply to me.
...Anyway.
Given all that, it was only natural for me to be interested in the strength of the regional warlords.
And my curiosity regarding the bandit knight who had ruined my life burned even brighter.
This wasn't merely idle curiosity.
It was strategically important.
After all, they might become people I would cross swords with someday.
Now...?
No.
Even if I was excited, I couldn't act recklessly.
And by reckless, I meant completely lacking awareness of the situation.
Questions required proper timing and proper circumstances.
No matter how curious I was, this was still class.
A disciple shouldn't interrupt his master's lesson with random questions.
Besides, this world had an unspoken rule.
Questions came after class.
Not during it.
So for now, I kept my mouth shut.
The solemn atmosphere of a lesson reflected the authority of the teacher.
Respecting and listening attentively was necessary to preserve my mentor's dignity.
"..."
A while ago, Pan got beaten on the soles of his feet with a stick and ended up rolling across the ground.
The day before yesterday, Bungbung asked a question during class and earned himself a giant bump on his head.
And right now—
"Waaaah! I'm sorry!"
Anna was crying after getting her palm smacked with a switch.
That definitely wasn't why I was behaving myself.
Not at all.
I was simply embodying the virtues of respecting one's teacher, remaining humble, and showing proper courtesy.
It was only right for a disciple to be mindful of his master's temperament.
The hierarchy among knights in this world was incredibly strict.
In many ways, stricter than a modern military.
Which made sense.
They practically lived in a permanent state of war.
If senior-junior relationships were that severe, then master-disciple relationships didn't even need mentioning.
And so.
I chewed on my curiosity for nearly an hour.
Then—
"That concludes today's instruction. Don't become complacent during your day off. Continue striving to improve."
As soon as class ended and Sir Rekun turned to leave, I followed after him.
The reason I didn't ask my question in front of everyone else was simple.
The other children didn't know why the lord had lost one of his eyes.
Not that I was trying to avoid responsibility for my past mistakes.
Eden and Sir Rekun had repeatedly warned me never to discuss the matter publicly.
"What a gloomy little brat."
As expected, Sir Rekun had noticed me following him long ago.
"Do you have some strange hobby involving trailing old men around?"
With all due respect, Master.
As far as I know, no such hobby exists.
The only person who willingly follows you around is Lady Lucester.
And that's your wife.
Even if you mean well, your personality is so rough that your relationship with your children is awkward.
I suppose pickpockets targeting elderly people might exist.
But considering Sir Rekun's physique, robbing a young man's wallet seemed much safer.
...
Wait.
Actually, I was jealous.
The fact that he was still so vigorous at his age was already incredible.
And his wife was still his beautiful childhood-friend elf sweetheart.
...Maybe becoming a knight really was the answer.
Anyway.
Sir Rekun had over seventy years of experience as a knight if you counted his apprentice days.
There was no way he wouldn't notice a child following him.
"Honestly, every little thing you do—"
He stopped himself midway through another scolding.
Ever since I gained the trait called Elven Insight, he had started doing that more often.
His lectures would suddenly cut off halfway.
At first, I assumed it was because of the trait's charm effects.
But recently, Lady Lucester had visited and explained the real reason.
"That's because Sera reminds him of Pepe."
Pepe was the nickname of Sir Rekun's youngest daughter, Pernian Lucester.
Apparently she was a half-elf with brown hair and brown eyes.
Just like me.
Of course, we looked completely different otherwise.
But I didn't dislike the fact that it made the old man a little kinder toward me.
"Hmm..."
Come to think of it, he was surprisingly soft-hearted.
There was that time he apologized to me, too.
And honestly, brown-haired, brown-eyed women were everywhere in this world.
The shades varied, but it was one of the most common combinations around.
Yet simply because I was a half-elf like his daughter, he attached special meaning to it.
Even though I was only filling half the role.
Our old man really was affectionate beneath the surface.
He just wasn't good at showing it.
Maybe that was why I never minded his harsh words.
"Master, there's something I'm curious about."
Anyway.
A question was a question.
I finally spoke.
"Bold little thing. You're already calling me your master?"
"...Huh?"
Then what was I supposed to call you?
It's not like you'd let me call you Grandpa.
We've lived under the same roof for over a decade.
You're being awfully stingy.
"...So what is it you're curious about?"
Fortunately, the scolding was short.
Carefully gauging his mood, I continued.
"It's related to today's lesson."
The incident from my childhood wasn't exactly a pleasant memory for Sir Rekun either.
So instead of asking directly, I chose a more indirect approach.
"You're asking about the warlords' level?"
"Yes."
Even an uncomfortable question became easier to answer if I explained my reasoning first.
I wasn't clueless enough to suddenly start talking about the bandit knight.
"Do you mean individual strength or the strength of their factions?"
"...Individual strength."
The latter interested me too.
But the former was what I truly wanted to know.
After all, whenever I imagined the future, I always pictured a one-on-one fight against that bandit knight.
"Well, I've never personally crossed swords with most of them, but if I had to estimate..."
According to Sir Rekun's assessment—
Excluding the elf who had ruled the forest for ages and the mysterious Frost Giant, the others were all roughly in the same league.
Naturally, I asked what "roughly the same league" actually meant.
"They're probably capable of handling several hundred soldiers by themselves. If the soldiers are weak enough, even more than a thousand wouldn't matter."
"...What?"
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
Several hundred soldiers?
Was one-versus-a-hundred actually possible?
And it wasn't as though ordinary soldiers were weak.
In this world, adult men could hunt large predators if you handed them spears and gathered enough of them together.
Their discipline and morale might vary.
But physically speaking, people who would've been considered exceptional specimens in my previous world were simply average here.
And yet these warlords could defeat hundreds of such men alone?
What kind of monsters were they?
Perhaps Aura and Mana were even more powerful than I had imagined.
"Viscount Tebian is probably somewhat below that level. However, I've heard his bodyguard is a famous master of the quarterstaff. Apparently he made quite a name for himself in the capital region, so he certainly isn't ordinary."
Just hearing this information left me stunned.
Even if I armed myself with every trait available to me, could I really stand on equal footing with people like that?
Could I even land a meaningful hit?
"In reality, they could probably handle even greater numbers. Militias aren't properly trained soldiers. They're still human. Once dozens start dying in the front ranks, morale collapses and the rest scatter."
Putting aside my shock, I completely agreed with Sir Rekun.
For intelligent beings, it was almost impossible to abandon all rational thought and fight purely through courage.
I would be no different.
"...Brat. Don't get any foolish ideas."
"...What?"
The sudden warning caught me off guard.
What did he mean by that?
"Don't underestimate this old man. I've watched you for years. Do you think I wouldn't understand the reason behind this question?"
My confusion vanished almost immediately.
"Oh, stop it. The rogue from Valten's group that you've set your sights on..."
Thinking about it now—
My master, Sir Rekun...
"...is a monster that those warlords couldn't even hope to compare to."
...was someone with frighteningly sharp insight.