I Received Training, But... (2)
I Received Training, But... (2)
"I have only ever witnessed the training of ordinary squires, but given how quickly you're growing, there's simply no comparison. I don't know where your growth will plateau, but if you keep progressing like this, you'll surely become a magnificent knight..."
By the time he finished speaking, Miguel's expression had grown rather complicated.
Compared to commoners, it was an outstanding ability, more than enough to make me a powerful knight. But for a noble with an awakened ability, being a knight wasn't a particularly valuable status.
It wasn't a bad prospect for me, though.
'Hmm, should I try becoming a domain knight?'
I entertained the thought for a moment, but then again, when I thought about being bound to the Duke's estate, it didn't seem like such a great idea.
Well, there was no need for a six-year-old to be worrying about things like that already.
On top of that, I had to quickly find out why the Duke was keeping an eye on me.
To do that, now was the time to make the most of my rapidly growing skills.
After training like that for a long while, it was time to take a break.
Just then, a servant came from the mansion and called Miguel away.
"The Commander is calling for me?"
"Yes."
"Understood. I'll be back shortly. Please rest, Young Lord."
As expected of an FM drill instructor. There was no way he was going to let things end here.
Watching him walk toward the mansion, I sat down in the shade of a tree with Flora.
Flora brought out some tea and snacks.
"Ah, nice."
As the warm drink spread through me, my muscles began to relax.
'As expected, being rich and noble is the absolute best.'
It was a shame. Once I grew older and left the mansion, I wouldn't be able to receive this kind of service anymore.
I asked Flora, who was sitting beside me.
"Aren't you bored?"
"No. Bored? Not at all. I'm not bored in the slightest."
Flora shook her head vigorously. Her determination to never have this position taken away from her was plain to see.
Then again, even to me, this was such a cushy job that it was almost boring.
"It might look easy, but there are actually a lot of things to attend to. I have to prepare food tailored to your tastes, Young Lord, and get wet towels ready so you can rest when you're tired..."
Flora earnestly explained why she was needed.
I let her voice wash over me and listened closely to the sounds coming from the forest.
The wind brushing against the tree branches.
The grass blades brushing against one another.
The chirping of insects and birds...
Wait.
I couldn't hear them at all.
Neither the birds nor the insects were making a sound.
That couldn't be. I could hear them even when I was moving violently on the training ground...
Goosebumps broke out all over my body. My expression turned cold, and my relaxed body stiffened.
"O-Oh, not that I'm saying it's hard or anything!"
Perhaps because my expression had changed, Flora hurriedly changed her tune.
But I was in no position to listen to her.
Since when had the sounds vanished?
Just a moment ago?
Or had they been gone for a while?
Damn it, I'd let my guard down too much.
I reached out and gripped the wooden sword I'd placed beside me. To be honest, it wasn't much of a comfort, but holding a sword still made me feel a little more at ease.
Hoo.
After taking a deep breath as quietly as possible, I spoke in a casual tone.
"Shall we slowly get back to training?"
"Pardon? The Knight hasn't returned yet. Please rest a little longer."
Flora looked at me, bewildered, but...
"Then, Flora, could you go call the Knight?"
At my next words, Flora stood up. Though it was a child's instruction, perhaps thanks to the image I'd built up so far, she obeyed immediately.
"Then please keep resting. I'll bring him back quickly."
She immediately crossed the training ground. As I watched her, I quietly stood up.
Flora trotted across the training ground and entered the path leading to the mansion.
Just as she was about to disappear from my sight, someone blocked her path.
"Who...?"
She looked up at the person standing in her way.
The person was dressed entirely in black. Both his body and the cloth covering his face were pitch-black.
"Flora, dodge!"
Damn it, I screamed, but the moment she opened her mouth in surprise—
Shunk.
A black-painted blade suddenly protruded from her back.
And blood splattered onto the ground.
"Ah..."
With only a faint, wheezing groan, her body collapsed.
The sword was pulled out, and blood pooled on the dirt where she lay.
I bit my lip as I watched Flora fall.
From the moment the black-masked man appeared until the moment Flora was stabbed, I couldn't move a single step.
I hadn't even noticed him appear, nor had I properly seen the moment Flora was stabbed. But even after that, I still couldn't move.
Stronger from training, my ass. What could possibly change for a six-year-old after just one month of training?
To think I'd freeze like this at the first murder scene I'd ever witnessed.
Besides, I'd been far too complacent.
I'd taken things too lightly just because I'd obtained a mediocre ability.
I'd been assigned a dedicated knight, and I'd even been training alone in the family's training ground.
On top of that, even the Duke had made an appearance.
It was more than enough to arouse suspicion in anyone who wanted me dead.
The fact that a worthless illegitimate son was receiving all of the Duke's expectations.
'Am I really receiving his expectations? Or is he just checking to see if I'm a useful tool?'
I recalled the Duke's face from the awakening.
Those chilling eyes, like a predator targeting its prey.
Those weren't the eyes of a father looking at his son with hope.
Step. Step.
Damn it, now was not the time for thoughts like that.
The man in black was slowly approaching me.
Stepping over Flora's corpse, he was now crossing the training ground.
The slender, masked man walked toward me with light steps, as if taking a leisurely stroll.
Damn it, I was paralyzed with fear.
What was the use of turning over countless thoughts in my head?
Wait, if I was paralyzed with fear, how could I look at the enemy so calmly and keep thinking?
No matter how hard I tried, neither my arms nor my legs would move.
But my mind and eyes were moving exactly as I willed.
Then...
Could it be...?
Was fear not the reason I couldn't move?
I bit my lip with all my might.
Crunch.
Fortunately, my jaw moved.
My lip split open, and blood trickled down my neck.
"Ah, ah."
Now my tongue was starting to move, too.
"This is the training ground of the Gracia Dukedom. Have you not thought about the consequences of committing murder here?"
When I said that, the man, who had been slowly approaching, stopped and tilted his head.
Though I'd managed to stop him, he didn't answer my question.
Clutching my trembling sword, I spoke again.
"I don't know who commissioned you or what organization you belong to, but if you kill me, the Duke's son, you, your family, and the one who ordered this will all have to prepare for death!"
Even when I shouted, he didn't reply.
Only his eyes, visible above the black mask, stared intently at me. He looked at me as if I were some curious object.
As expected, my bluff and leading questions had failed.
Black leather clothing, a mask covering half his face, and a black-painted sword.
Though he'd killed Flora first, anyone could see he'd come to kill me.
'Damn it, I feel so sorry to Flora. I'll have to treat her better next time.'
I apologized inwardly as I looked at Flora's corpse behind the masked man.
The masked man moved again.
Exuding a gloomy aura and seemingly possessing formidable skills, he looked like an assassin or a contract killer, no matter how I looked at him.
Still, from his gaze just now, I could tell he hadn't known how intelligent I was.
An assassin who didn't properly know his target?
'Is it a lack of information? Or is he just that confident in his own skills?'
Even without hearing an answer, I could glean little bits of information from him as he walked.
A solid, trained body. Right-handed. Confidence subtly oozing out of him.
Sword skills my eyes could barely track.
And yet, an assassin who didn't properly know his target but somehow knew exactly where I was.
An assassin who even knew the exact time he wouldn't be interrupted.
Wait. How did he know that? How did he know exactly when Miguel wouldn't be around?
Was his stealth so good that Miguel couldn't detect him? Or had he managed to have Miguel called away at just the right moment?
If he'd had Miguel called away, had he bribed the servant who summoned him?
As the information grew, so did the questions, but unfortunately, I couldn't solve them right now.
The masked man drew closer and closer.
The closer he got, the more my body trembled.
Why was I trembling?
Was I overwhelmed by fear?
But my mind was still perfectly clear.
Quiver. Quiver. Quiver.
As my body shook, the sword in my hand wobbled wildly, too.
Perhaps thanks to that, my paralyzed body began to move slightly.
'Please, stop!'
I forced my other hand to move, gripping the wildly shaking sword with both hands.
Damn it, my spirit wasn't broken, nor was I terrified. Yet my body wouldn't move properly, and now I was shivering all on my own.
Why wouldn't it move?
This wasn't psychological.
Then what was it? If it wasn't psychological, was he emitting some kind of killing intent, like in those martial arts novels?
Wait.
Hold on. This world was different from my past life.
It was a place where priests who healed bodies and proper alchemists existed. On top of that, even my immature second brother could spark electricity from his fingertips.
Then some energy I wasn't aware of could be preventing my body from moving.
'Wait? Energy? Bound by energy?'
At that moment, something clicked in my head. It felt as if a switch had flipped in a corner of my mind.
And then I felt something around my body—an energy I hadn't been able to perceive until just now.
That energy was enveloping my body, pressing deep inside me, and making me tremble.
And that energy was emanating from the masked man standing right in front of me.
The energy flowing from the masked man was also inside me, in the grass and trees, and moving through the air.
'What is this?'
The moment I was swept away by this newfound sensation,
Step.
The masked man's footsteps stopped.
He stood right in front of me.
"You were quite entertaining for a brat, so why are you so quiet now? Say something."
A low voice emerged from beneath the mask. His eyes laughed as they looked at my trembling sword.
As expected, the masked man before me was the one who had paralyzed my body and was now making me tremble.
"Your skills aren't half bad, but does your family know that you go around killing people for money?"
At my words, the masked man's brow furrowed.
"I don't know if you're married, but I wonder what your son or daughter would think of their father. And what your deceased mother would say from the afterlife, seeing her son in such a state..."
"This little bastard, talking about someone's perfectly fine mother..."
Sure enough, when it came to insults, going after someone's family was the absolute best. The cool-headed masked man immediately lost his temper at my words.
At the same time, he raised his sword, stained with dark blood, high into the air.
His sword strike lacked composure.
Just as I'd expected, the energy enveloping my body had faltered, if only slightly!
'Please! Please! Move!'
I pushed my own energy through the slightly disrupted flow of his energy.
I didn't know how I'd managed to do it. The moment I felt the energy, I just knew it was possible.
And the moment the sword swung back down,
Snap.
I broke through the energy binding me and threw myself to the side.
Slice.
As I threw myself aside, blood sprayed before my eyes.
Damn it, a six-year-old body with only one month of training couldn't dodge it completely.
Thud.
After flying about two meters to the side, I tumbled onto the ground.
Blood was gushing from my chest.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like my heart or any major blood vessels had been severed.
'But there's way too much blood pouring out!'
If I didn't receive proper treatment immediately, this wound could kill me right then and there.
On top of that, the pain was slowly starting to hit me.
The masked man who had swung the sword was staring at me with wide, startled eyes.
He clearly hadn't expected me to dodge.
Seeing his dilated pupils gave me a brief sense of satisfaction, but the pain quickly overwhelmed it.
"Aaagh!"
Hearing my scream, the masked man muttered.
"To think you dodged my sword. And those words from earlier—were they meant to shake me? You seem to endure pain well, too. Hmm, it's a bit of a waste to kill you like this. You look like you'd be perfect to use in the Organization..."
His eyes held a look of regret as he watched me.
Yet he raised his sword once more. It seemed his words of regret were just empty talk. Or perhaps he was a professional who always kept his word once hired.
'Am I going to die after all?'
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the raised sword.
It was then.
A shout echoed from afar.
"Young Lord!"
It was the voice of Knight Miguel. Screaming with all my might had paid off.
Miguel was running toward us.