Knights Order Advisor (1)
Knights Order Advisor (1)
The name "Artifact Investigation Squad" made it clear what this group project was all about.
The claim that we were following the Hero's path in accordance with the founding king's wishes was nothing more than an excuse.
It was simply an assignment to go around searching for artifacts.
Judging by the Grand Archduchess's true objective, she wanted to find damaged artifacts among them, and the students gathered here were the ones who would help her find them.
It was only natural for the Grand Archduchess to step forward.
Since this was her doing, she had no choice but to take the lead.
She had studied abroad at this Academy to develop her abilities, and I'd wondered why she'd been so strangely quiet.
It didn't seem as though simply looking around the royal warehouse once would be much help, either.
But to think she'd been harboring such a scheme.
It was almost frustrating to think that I'd gone to the trouble of procuring a damaged artifact for her not long ago.
...No, to be completely honest, it wasn't frustrating at all. Not when I considered how much money was involved...
Come to think of it, there was a reason the Princess was traveling with her.
In any case, staying out of the princes' sight was advantageous for the Princess, and traveling around the territories to meet nobles and make herself known would be a great help at a time like this.
For the Princess, her friendship with the Grand Archduchess must have been the most important factor, of course.
"Searching for artifacts used by heroes... This will be an interesting assignment. The traces of our Empire's ancestors must still remain in this kingdom, too..."
It seemed that both Joachim and Mirisa liked the assignment.
Balea's expression was full of anticipation, as though something fun was bound to happen, whatever the assignment turned out to be.
To be honest, I liked it quite a bit, too.
As we searched for the artifacts, I could follow in the Hero's footsteps.
I might even get to meet the Hero's descendants and perhaps obtain scattered mana cultivation techniques.
Come to think of it, I also needed to develop the Grand Archduchess's ability to repair the orb, and in the meantime, I had to protect the Princess.
Viewed that way, this assignment might actually be perfect for me.
Still, this was only our first meeting.
There was plenty to prepare before we could take any real action. We had to start by researching what to look for and where to go.
"I'll look for materials in the Royal Palace Library," the Princess suggested when she heard that research was needed. Mirisa cautiously raised her hand to say where she would look.
"Then I'll check the Academy Library..."
"I'll ask the other students."
Balea declared, intending to make use of her vast network of friends,
"I'll look into it through other channels, too."
The Grand Archduchess would likely ask other nobles.
"I'll look into it as well, though I doubt I'll be much help with the research."
Joachim raised his hand apologetically, and I gave a similar response.
"I'll see what I can find out, too."
There was only one place in the capital where I could gather information.
But a place that mainly dealt in backstreet rumors was unlikely to know much about the Hero's artifacts.
The only thing I could pin my hopes on was that they ran an auction house where artifacts were traded.
After wrapping up the meeting, we agreed to gather again the following weekend.
At the end of the meeting, the Grand Archduchess apologized to everyone once more.
Her apology was incredibly graceful. Even Joachim was at a loss for what to do, and everyone returned to the dormitory looking satisfied.
I was about to head to the dormitory, too, when the Princess called to me from behind.
"I'm sorry for deciding this without consulting you first."
"It's fine. I had to escort you anyway. Besides, I've already heard plenty of apologies from the Grand Archduchess."
"Thank you for understanding."
At my words, the Princess bowed politely.
But it seemed she hadn't called me over just to apologize. Once she'd finished, the Princess spoke again.
"You mentioned before that you wanted me to introduce you to someone well-versed in the royal swordsmanship, right?"
"Ah, yes. I only brought it up in the hope that, if it wouldn't cause any trouble, you might be able to introduce me to one of the Royal Knights."
I'd asked her almost as a request when I met with her privately after the opening ceremony.
I'd figured it would be difficult... Had I asked for nothing?
"I apologize. It must be difficult for someone who isn't part of the royal family, and yet I made you worry for nothing."
This time, I apologized.
The Princess shook her head.
"No, not at all. The Gracia Dukedom is no stranger to the royal family. There's no reason we can't teach you the royal swordsmanship."
The prestige of the Gracia Dukedom, which still held the right to succeed to the throne, was palpable.
Those succession rights had nothing to do with me, a bastard son, of course.
Teaching the royal swordsmanship to me, an illegitimate son rather than the official successor, was bound to cause plenty of problems.
Yet the Princess spoke as if none of that mattered to her.
She hadn't been such a radical girl before... Had Balea influenced her?
If not, surely... it couldn't be because of me, could it?
"Then, is it possible?"
"Yes. I've already spoken to Katrin. You can hear the details from her."
Since this concerned the knights, she must have spoken to Katrin. In that case, I just had to talk to Katrin.
Thinking that, I nodded. The Princess bid me farewell and headed to her quarters with her maids.
I was on my way back to the dormitory when I suddenly remembered something I'd forgotten.
"Wait, Katrin is on leave!"
After seeing me train alone, Katrin had disappeared, saying she would look for a way to help. She'd already been missing classes for several days.
I couldn't just show up at her house without an appointment. Should I visit the faculty office tomorrow?
I returned to the dormitory with those worries on my mind.
Fortunately, there was no need to visit the faculty office.
Katrin showed up for class the very next day.
And she had brought a stranger with her.
An elderly gentleman who looked quite advanced in years—no, an old man with a thick white beard.
The Knight Faculty students stared at the old man, puzzled.
"You may be seeing him for the first time, but this gentleman is an advisor to the Royal Knights. I've brought him here to assist with our classes, so make sure you treat him with respect."
Everyone was surprised to hear that the old man was an advisor to the Royal Knights, but they soon tilted their heads in confusion.
No matter how they looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary old man.
He wasn't particularly imposing, and even now, he stood leaning on a cane.
"He'll look over the other students as well, but since he came mainly to look after Alex, I ask the rest of you to be understanding."
Only then did the other students nod.
"I thought he might be some hidden legendary knight from a past generation, but I guess he really is just an advisor."
"He has no mana, and his body's in that state. How could he even be a knight? It's a miracle he's an advisor at all."
"Did she bring him in to help with solo training?"
"Well, if word gets out that he's training alone because there's no one to teach him, it won't look good to outsiders. So they probably just called someone in to check his posture, at least."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly at the students' whispers.
They weren't wrong.
When I first saw him, even I had thought the old man might be some hidden master from a martial arts novel.
The old man was someone Katrin had brought along after skipping classes for several days to resolve my problem.
And if what the Princess had said yesterday was correct, this old man must be the royal knight she'd promised to introduce me to.
But just as the students had said, I couldn't sense a single speck of mana from the old man.
Even when I scanned him with mana or relied on my intuition, he seemed like an ordinary civilian.
'Still, I hope he can at least teach me the proper theory of swordsmanship...'
Originally, I'd thought I wouldn't be able to obtain the royal swordsmanship and mana cultivation technique.
Although the Princess's words yesterday had sent my expectations soaring, given the reality of the situation, even this much was something to be grateful for.
The Knight Faculty class was sparring again today.
Since Professor Katrin had been absent for several days, we'd been doing easy training, almost like self-study, so the students groaned at the mention of resuming sparring.
The knights took their places in front of the students, and Katrin began sparring with the Princess as well.
I stood well apart from them and prepared for my personal training.
I saw the old man slowly approaching, leaning on his cane.
Instead of starting my training, I waited for him to reach me.
A moment later, he stood in front of me and looked me up and down.
I examined him in turn.
It was definitely the first time I'd seen his face, yet I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Since I'd never met him before, I must have seen someone who resembled him somewhere.
"I certainly heard that you're practicing a Mana Cultivation Technique. Why is your body in that state?"
It seemed the title of Royal Knights advisor was no empty claim.
At a glance, the old man had realized that my body hadn't been built through training alone.
"I awakened with 'Physical Optimization.' I learned the mana cultivation technique from my family's order of knights."
"I thought as much. But are you saying your mana cultivation technique is a knockoff?"
Startled, I glanced at the knights who were sparring. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have heard the old man.
It was true that the mana cultivation technique the knights had learned was a copy of one manifested through an ability.
But this was the first time anyone had called it a knockoff so bluntly.
He was a truly bold old man. If the knights had heard him, they certainly wouldn't have let it slide.
Tilting his head, the old man pointed his cane at my chest.
"Try circulating your mana once."
In any case, if I wanted to learn the royal swordsmanship, I had to do as I was told.
I circulated my mana along the path where the mana circuit had been constructed.
"Pfft. And you call that a knockoff?"
Could it be that he'd noticed? No one had ever noticed before...
"I've heard rumors that practicing a family's mana cultivation technique can sometimes cause it to transform into an ability, but I never thought it was actually possible."
Whew. Fortunately, he'd misunderstood in a different way.
It seemed the Duke had kept quiet for the same reason: he'd misunderstood it that way, too.
It was the first time I'd heard of such a thing, but I was just grateful he'd jumped to his own conclusion.
"You said you're a bastard, right? What you just circulated is the Gracia Mana Cultivation Technique of the Gracia Dukedom, so is that why you hid it from everyone?"
At times like this, there was no need to give a separate answer.
"I'll keep your secret. How amusing—a sixteen-year-old brat with Physical Optimization who can even circulate a mana cultivation technique."
"Now, show me your swordsmanship. I need to see exactly what kind of help you need."
I broke out in a cold sweat at the old man's words.
He claimed to be an advisor to the Royal Knights, and his keen eye certainly lived up to the title.
I'd only thought about learning swordsmanship; I'd never expected such a sharp-witted old man to show up.
If I performed as I had when sparring with Katrin, I'd be caught in an instant.
Before I could come up with a solution, I had to change the subject.
"How should I address you? Would 'Advisor' be appropriate?"
At my words, the old man's eyebrows twitched.
"You rascal. In terms of family relations, I'm of your grandfather's generation. Just call me grandfather."
He certainly looked old enough to be a grandfather, but I hadn't expected him to be one by family relations.
No, did that mean the old man in front of me was of royal blood?
Could he be a duke I didn't know about?
As I hurriedly tried to bow my head, he waved his cane.
"Though I'm the current King's uncle, I lost my mana and am now just a half-baked noble who can't even act like royalty. There's no need for formalities, so just call me grandfather."
No, even if he'd lost his mana, I couldn't believe he was the King's uncle.
Not only was I breaking out in a cold sweat, but it felt as if all the blood had drained from my face.
"With Katrin coming all the way to my house to beg, and the Princess showing up with a letter from the Queen, how could I possibly refuse? I merely came to see what kind of fellow you were."
Although I was the one who'd made the request, they'd brought me someone far too grand.
"You've stalled long enough, haven't you? Now, swing your sword."
With a troubled expression, I diligently swung my sword, performing the swordsmanship I'd learned at the Duke's estate.
This was a disaster. At this rate, even learning the royal swordsmanship would be difficult.
I even began to wonder whether I should just confess everything, learn it, and then kill myself.
But there was no guarantee that confessing everything I'd learned would let me learn the royal swordsmanship.
I might just be dragged straight to prison instead.
At last, a stretch of training far more grueling than before came to an end.
As I lowered my sword, the old man narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
"Tsk, tsk. With so much to hide, I wonder what you expect to learn. Decide what you're going to do by the next time I come."
Leaving me with those troubling words, the old man departed from the training ground, leaning on his cane.
I remained in the training ground, lost in thought.
I kept agonizing over how I could learn the old man's swordsmanship without getting caught.