Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Last Man Standing
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What surprised me about this training retreat was the sheer number of famous people present, even names I’d heard at least once.
Hector and Seren were a given, but there was also Caron Woodjack, who took first place in the run, the executioner of the Rubietta family, the black knight of Chevalier, the young chieftain of the Nightwalkers, and even the future hero of the beastmen...
It was no exaggeration to call it a grand assembly of heroes who would one day support the Empire.
But if I had to name the one I’d heard the most about among them, it would undoubtedly be Evan Helvin.
Not even ten years.
In just five more years, there would be no one in the Empire who didn't know the name Evan Helvin.
Evan would probably join the hero organization [Heros] within a year or two.
And as a hero from Heros, he would achieve unprecedented feats, becoming the center of expectations not just for the organization, but for the entire Empire.
That's why the fall of the hero Evan Helvin was called [Humanity's Most Painful Betrayal].
I looked at Evan.
His gray hair and innocent face were that of a boy.
I don't know much about the Helvin family.
If my memory served me right, they were a mediocre family from some rural backwater.
They had a faint trace of a hero's bloodline, but no outstanding hero had ever come from the Helvin family.
And yet, Evan was quite famous.
Famous enough that even I had heard of him once.
Since childhood, he had participated in various swordsmanship exchanges and achieved great results, and the sword masters who taught him had all praised his talent.
Such rumors quickly spread to the Imperial Capital.
‘So he wasn’t a bad seed from the start.’
The possibilities were one of two.
Either he was a devious bastard, so cunning he could even fool my insight...
Or some incident had occurred that could turn such a simple-hearted boy into the worst criminal in history.
‘Since we’re roommates, anyway.’
I'll find the answer if I watch him for a while.
And if I conclude he's an irredeemably devious bastard...?
‘I don’t know.’
I decided to think about that when the time came and swallowed the last piece of meat.
* * *
After lunch, I went out to the training grounds and saw the stragglers trickling back to camp, collapsed on the ground.
The sight of those high-and-mighty nobles crawling on the ground like worms was special in many ways.
I sat down somewhere convenient and watched the scene.
After a while, the knights appeared.
They were carrying limp cadets over their shoulders, and with faces devoid of any consideration, they dropped them onto the dirt ground.
“Gah.”
“Ugh...”
So they're alive.
As expected of kids who grew up eating well, they're sturdy.
They may be children of nobility, but most who inherited the blood of a [Great Family] were from martial families.
Meaning it was a bit much to treat them like hothouse flowers.
They must have received their own training from a young age.
“H-hungry...”
I saw a cadet crawling toward the dining hall.
I could feel his firm will to live.
‘You can do it. Hang in there.’
I fervently cheered for the cadet's survival instincts, but a heartless man stood in the way of his passionate race.
“Halt.”
The cadet looked up with a pitiful gaze at the knight's words.
But the knight, as if devoid of a human heart, spoke with a blank expression.
“Lunchtime is over.”
“N-no way. I didn't even get to eat breakfast...”
“If you wanted to eat, you should have returned sooner.”
“Gyaaaack...”
The cadets collapsed, letting out strange noises.
Indeed, there was probably no better way to control the cadets in a place like this than with food.
It felt cowardly and petty, but the fact that it felt that way was proof of its effectiveness.
Even if there were no limits on the amount of food, the daily activity was so strenuous that one would get hungry again quickly, no matter how much they ate.
“Alright. If you've rested enough, gather around. We will begin the afternoon session.”
I had rested enough, eaten, and even digested my food until my stomach felt comfortable.
But most of the guys who had just arrived were still crawling on the ground.
Of course, it wasn't likely the instructors would go back on their word.
They kicked the ones who couldn't move, forcing them to gather in the center of the training grounds.
“Are you okay?”
“U-unh...”
Amidst the chaos, Evan was looking after a few of the others. He helped them up, even giving them piggyback rides.
His looks, his actions—he was a classic good guy.
The type who goes out of his way to get the short end of the stick.
Anyway, just as the cadets who had gathered in the center staggered to their feet, a man climbed onto the platform.
He was a young, handsome man, but his thin lips made him unappealing by my standards.
“Hello, cadets. My name is Juan. I will be your martial arts teacher for this retreat, teaching you general martial arts.”
It was probably the first gentle voice we’d heard since the retreat began.
The fact that such a voice came from an instructor felt strange.
“Hmm…”
Juan scratched his cheek as he looked at the cadets staring at him like zombies.
“Your morning session was with Teacher Tanko, wasn't it? You all seem very tired. It can't be helped. Since it's the first day, we'll conduct the class while you sit comfortably.”
“Oh, ooh…”
“Thank you... thank you...”
At his words, most of the cadets flopped down onto the dirt.
These were the same guys who had hesitated to even roll on the dirt yesterday, but in the face of physical exhaustion, they didn't have the luxury to care about such things.
However, I felt a slight sense of unease at the martial arts teacher's words.
At first glance, he seemed like a very good person, considerate of the cadets and encouraging them to rest, but...
‘Of all times, why now?’
It was only the second day of the retreat.
It's not that the hunting teacher wanted to treat the cadets so harshly.
He was deliberately being excessively harsh because this was the adjustment period.
But this man's offer of rest was loosening the tension that had been so carefully wound tight among the cadets.
‘It might be comfortable and nice for now...’
But still.
They would be worked like dogs again in the next class. Could this break really be considered a good decision?
Of course, I might just be thinking this way because I’m cynical.
In reality, that martial arts teacher might just be a soft-hearted, kind person.
“Then, let's begin the class.”
I lifted my head.
The instructors' evaluations had already started, so any sloppy behavior would be grounds for demerits.
To graduate in first place, I couldn't afford to look sloppy.
‘First place?’
I was slightly taken aback by the sudden thought.
The Iron-Blooded Duke's passing remark had naturally become my goal.
‘Is it because he was so sure?’
I already had a sense of how strict the Iron-Blooded Duke was with rewards and punishments.
If I took first place, it probably wouldn't end with just a word or two of praise. I might be given something comparable to the Spirit Jade.
“The origins of martial arts lie in self-defense—protecting one's body—but that has changed in modern times. The variety has greatly increased. There are specialized martial arts for specific weapons, frequently used body parts, combat methods for certain opponents or environments, or even for those born with rare body types.”
Just then, someone raised their hand.
“What do you mean by rare body types?”
“I’m referring to those born with one arm, a limp, or blindness.”
“Ah.”
“The training methods for such individuals are naturally unconventional.”
The class was mostly a theoretical explanation of martial arts.
The mindset of a warrior, the representative martial arts of the Empire and their characteristics, their respective strengths and weaknesses... and precautions to take in training, sparring, and actual combat.
To be honest, most of it was information that children from martial families already knew.
His voice was pleasant, but the class itself was boring, and some cadets were dozing off in their seats.
“Wake up.”
Even seeing them, the martial arts teacher merely gave a quiet warning, without any real punishment or demerits.
The cadet who was called out, his tension gone, just let out a foolish laugh.
Anyway, the anticlimactic class ended quickly, and it was time for the long-awaited dinner.
“You may not enter.”
“N-no...!”
Cadets with fewer than ten points collapsed with expressions of despair.
No one resisted.
A sufficient example had been made on the first day.
The hungry cadets shuffled around the dining hall like zombies, and I watched them while I ate.
“...To think that being able to eat dinner could be this blissful.”
Evan, sitting next to me, muttered in a low voice.
Come to think of it, he had earned two bonus points today.
It was enough to cover yesterday's demerits and then some.
“From now on, I’ll have to be truly grateful for every single meal.”
For some reason, hearing Evan's voice reminded me of my days on Spirit Mountain.
The time I starved for a whole week, when I seriously contemplated whether I could eat rocks.
“...”
I never thought I'd be reminded of those days during the family's training retreat.
‘Life is full of ups and downs...’
I recalled my Eldest Martial Brother's favorite saying without realizing it, flinched, and let out a soft sigh to myself.
Was it because I suddenly felt uneasy?
My appetite vanished, and I couldn't even eat half of what I normally would that evening.
* * *
The hunting teacher appeared again for the evening session.
They said there were eight Grand Master Teachers, but his frequency of appearance was already unusual.
There didn't seem to be a strict hierarchy among the instructors, but I started to think this man might be in a position like a head instructor.
“The evening session is sparring. Use the weapons provided. Pair up in twos. You have five minutes.”
The hunting teacher announced in a flat voice, then added.
“For your information, the winner of a spar gets one bonus point, while the loser gets two demerits.”
The cadets stirred at the sudden announcement.
Among them, some dopey-faced kid shot his hand up and spoke.
“I-isn't that unfair? Why is it one point for winning but two points for losing?”
I wondered which clueless bastard it was, and it turned out to be Caris.
The hunting teacher's lips twisted into a sneer.
“Caris Earthman, you have a very romantic view of the world. So much so that I want to open up your head and see what kind of flower garden is blooming in there.”
At that chilling voice, Caris reflexively clutched his head with both hands.
“Listen well if you want to live a long life. Don't assume that there will always be a corresponding reward at the end of your suffering. This world doesn't remember your hardships. If you want something, you have no choice but to crawl your way up from the very bottom. Conversely, sometimes a single defeat can cost you everything.”
The hunting teacher’s words resonated with my own approach to life, and I found myself nodding unconsciously.
Hunting Teacher Tanko.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be from a minority tribe of the plains. From what I knew, his people lived with nature from a young age.
He probably understood the law of the jungle before he even came of age.
Caris stood there, overwhelmed and rooted to the spot, while the quicker ones had already started to act.
“Uh... you, want to fight me?”
“N-no way. You're from the Chevalier family...”
“Then what about me?”
“Hmm. I’d rather fight a swordsman if possible...”
Most of the cadets were frantically searching for opponents weaker than themselves.
They now understood the weight of a two-point demerit.
At this point, most of them had ten points.
Dropping below ten points meant losing dinner privileges... and there was no telling what other penalties would follow.
These cadets were only now realizing the importance of their points.
But amidst the pathetic chaos of everyone seeking out weaker opponents, a surprisingly decent matchup came to be.
“You won't regret this, will you?”
“Of course not.”
It was an unexpected development, even for me.
Hector and Seren were going to fight.
I watched the scene with great interest.
Personally, I thought Hector had the upper hand.
Hector was older, and he had a Blessing from the first Blessing Ceremony, so his proficiency should be higher.
That said, I didn't think Seren was guaranteed to lose. I knew because I'd fought alongside her, however briefly.
Seren was already beyond the level of a typical cadet.
Meaning she was skilled enough to be thrown into real combat right now without any issues.
“Aren't you going to find an opponent?”
Just then, the hunting teacher looked at me and asked.
I kept my eyes on Hector and Seren as I asked back.
“I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“I understand the total number of cadets in this retreat is thirty-nine. That means if we pair up, one person will be left over. Who does the remaining person spar with?”
“The last one remaining will fight me.”
“...!”
At these words, the cadets who hadn't yet found a partner flinched and trembled.
The fame of a Grand Master Teacher was renowned throughout the Empire.
It was only natural, as he was a distinguished guest personally invited by the Iron-Blooded Duke himself.
Although his focus on education meant he wasn't quite on the level of the continent's current strongest fighters.
He was still so strong that comparing him to a mere cadet was an insult.
“Will we still lose points if we lose a spar against you, sir?”
“You ask the obvious.”
“I see.”
I nodded and looked forward again.
A sense of urgency began to creep into the voices of the remaining cadets.
“Hey! Just fight me!”
“S-should we?”
“How about you fight me?”
“Ugh... I guess I have no choice.”
Even those who had been avoiding fights with the more skilled cadets quickly paired up, deciding it was better than facing the hunting teacher.
“Why are you still just standing there?”
The hunting teacher asked, watching me as I quietly observed the scene.
I replied nonchalantly.
“You said the one left over gets to fight you, sir.”
“I did.”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, the hunting teacher narrowed his eyes, as if he didn't quite understand my words.
“...”
But soon, he bared his teeth in a silent laugh.
I wondered if the reason for the hunting teacher's smile was the same as mine.
Realizing this, I smiled back at him.