Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Ulstro Kingdom - Squire Life (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"W-well, then I'll speak casually. I'm Amy. I work as Mercedes's lifestyle squire alongside Elza-unnie."
"...Glet. I'm a attendant squire like you."
Glet said that and turned her attention back to her training.
In contrast, Amy seemed to have a ton of questions about Valdes and peppered him with them. Along the way, she brought up the other squires too.
She came across as quite the chatty, carefree girl.
"Hehe, actually, up until now, I was the baby of the group. Both by age and by join date."
Amy was a girl with wavy brown hair that really stood out.
She introduced herself as the fourth daughter of a baron's family.
And one without any territory, at that.
In any country, the gap between nobles with land and those without was huge.
For starters, it showed in their names. Nobles with territory could use a middle name, but those without couldn't. So they ended up just like the children of untitled nobles, with only a family name and given name.
It seemed like a minor difference, but among nobles, it completely changed how they perceived someone.
"We didn't have much money, so I had no choice but to become a lifestyle squire. But at least they passed down some sword talent to me—I'm grateful for that."
She looked a bit down for a moment, but her face brightened right up again. What an energetic girl.
"And on top of that, the knight we serve is a princess! Even my fellow squires are jealous."
"She's amazing, isn't she?"
"Right, right! She's so good to us squires too! As expected from the daughter of Her Majesty the Queen—a fine lady knight!"
He almost bristled at the mention of the queen being a good person, but he managed to hold it in.
He nodded along, matching her energy, and she just kept chattering away excitedly. Thanks to that, Valdes got a good grasp on Mercedes and her circle.
No matter how much he'd investigated, it was all from the outside, so there could be inaccuracies or recent changes.
"Elza-unnie was the first of us to join! She knows all about the knight and handles everything else smoothly too. If there's anything you don't know, just ask her."
Elza.
She was a commoner.
According to Amy, she'd been a squire for quite a while now. And her skills weren't lacking either. She had more than enough talent to become a knight, but she was sticking it out to join this knight order.
She was aiming for the promotion system.
It was an internal exam each knight order held on their own, dubbing skilled squires as knights of that order.
They varied by order, but the Pedro Knight Order held promotion exams every two months.
Using these exams made it far easier to join a knight order than coming in from outside. That was why cases like Elza's—talented enough for knighthood but voluntarily staying on as a squire—were common.
"And Glet-unnie is the daughter of a viscount."
Amy glanced slyly at Glet, gauging her mood, then whispered quietly.
"She's not usually that curt, but she's in a bad mood today. Truth is, Glet-unnie entered the martial tournament too. She got knocked out on the second day, though."
"Ah."
Now Valdes finally understood Glet's attitude.
It wasn't just curtness—it had this subtle hostility to it. He'd wondered if she was like Etilene, but apparently not.
"...Amy."
"Eek! S-sorry, unnie! W-water! You're thirsty, right?! I'll go get some!"
Amy panicked and bolted from the training grounds.
"S-sorry about that."
"Sigh. No, it's fine. It's not your fault anyway... Just my own lack of skill."
Glet let out a deep sigh and slumped into a chair in the corner.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I took it out on you for no reason. You must have it rough too."
"No. Thanks to my master, I was happy."
Glet's eyes widened at Valdes's words.
"...Impressive. I've seen a few demonkin half-breeds, but you're the first as positive as you."
"R-really?"
"Yeah..."
The boy scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. She couldn't believe this was the kid who'd gone toe-to-toe with the famous Etilene.
"Um, hey."
"Yes?"
"Maybe..."
Glet trailed off, blushing shyly.
"What's up?"
Valdes leaned in close to her face, teasing on purpose.
"Eep!"
Her face flushed red.
'Handsome face does the trick, as expected.'
"I-I mean..."
"Yes?"
"...C-could you... watch my training a bit?"
"Ah, of course!"
Her expression lit up at his reply.
"G-great! You can borrow my spare sword!"
Glet handed him the spare sword she'd brought.
The two of them quickly took their stances.
'Blunt sword.'
He checked it briefly—the blade was dulled. Same with Glet's.
For safety, training swords were usually blunts. But aside from the dulled edge, the grip, weight, and size were identical to a real sword. And they still hurt if you got hit.
"...Gulp."
Glet swallowed without realizing it as she stared at Valdes in front of her.
The kind, gentle boy from moments ago was gone. In his place stood a warrior.
It felt just like the rare times Mercedes sparred with her.
Exactly the same.
No openings to spot for an attack, and his overwhelming presence made her body shrink back. Her palms were slick with cold sweat, threatening to slip the sword from her grip.
"I'll go first."
Valdes's sword swiftly struck hers aside. Glet barely blocked in surprise, but he followed up with a barrage of hits on her blade.
'Fast...!'
It had been over ten paces away, yet he'd closed the distance in a blink. She hadn't even caught his wind-up, let alone his movement.
Still, Glet had spent years as a squire under Mercedes. She wasn't some pushover to get flung back after a few clashes.
"Hah!"
She gripped hard and swung with full power.
A fast, straight thrust—the best line she could think of to push Valdes back.
But Valdes blocked every one with minimal movement.
"Ngh...!"
'This much difference...?'
The last guy she'd fought in the tournament had made it to the round of 16. She'd been consoling herself that she'd just been unlucky.
But crossing swords with Valdes made her shortcomings hit home.
Her shaken mind showed plainly in her eyes.
Clang!
His blade, locked with hers until then, slid off smoothly and smacked her wrist in an instant.
"Kyaa!"
The pain made her drop her sword without thinking.
"Good work."
"...G-good work."
Glet clutched her stinging wrist with her other hand and picked up her sword.
"Y-you're strong..."
"You're plenty strong too, Miss Glet."
She shook her head glumly at his words.
"Just call me Glet. ...And I dropped my sword after one wrist hit. Strong, my foot."
With that, Glet plopped down onto the floor.
"Is your wrist okay?"
"Huh? Oh..."
Before Glet could respond, Valdes stepped closer and grabbed her arm.
Her arm went limp, leaving her wrist exposed defenselessly.
"Hmm."
In that brief moment, her wrist was already swelling. It'd puff up more as time passed.
Valdes pulled an ointment from his pocket and applied it to her wrist.
"It's not the best stuff, but it's better than nothing. Later, when Amy brings water, you can use that for a compress."
"Uh, uh-huh. Thanks..."
He glanced at Glet's face.
Her cheeks were beet red as she stared at the arm he held.
'Working great.'
Both the ointment and the charm magic.
He'd called it nothing special, but the ointment was actually high-end. His pride wouldn't let him carry cheap junk.
As for the charm magic, he'd cast a low-power, long-lasting version on himself to avoid the hassle of constant calculations. It just sparked mild fondness—no one short of an archmage would notice, and it synergized perfectly with his good looks.
"......"
Glet silently watched Valdes's hand as he applied the ointment.
His rubbing touch was warm yet firm.
Calluses.
Far rougher than hers. It hit her just how much effort he'd put in to reach this level.
And maybe because of that.
Even though his skin was rough and hard, his touch felt gentle.
Her lips parted unconsciously.
"Um, hey..."
"Ah! Glet-unnie, you're hurt?! What do we do, what do we do!"
But Amy's return cut her off.
Amy pressed the cold water bottle she'd brought to Glet's wrist.
"Ah, i-it's fine."
"Jeez, how'd you get hurt?"
"Just a little, during sparring?"
Amy shot Valdes a look at her words.
The boy looked sheepish.
"Causing trouble on day one?"
"N-no! I asked him to spar!"
Glet startled at Amy's teasing tone and shouted.
"Aw, you scared me. Nah, I know. Just kidding."
"...Yeah."
Glet didn't even know why she'd yelled. Seeing Amy blame Valdes had just made her stomach twist, like it was her own issue.
The mood grew awkward for a moment, but Valdes spoke up.
"If it might offend you... could I share what I noticed?"
"Huh? Noticed? S-sure."
"Your form and stance are too rigid, Glet. Too straight-line focused. All that power in your arms stiffens your body. And you're too intimidated by your opponent."
Valdes stated it firmly.
"Ugh!"
It felt like a dagger to the chest. Right on the mark.
Especially since Mercedes had said the exact same thing before.
"If you had overwhelming power, it'd be fine. But without it, you need technique. And that comes from curves, not straight lines."
Valdes's impromptu lesson began.
But not just Glet—even Amy's eyes sparkled as she hung on his words.
"There are many ways to draw curves, but the wrist is key to start. You could brute-force it with raw strength, but that's inefficient. The wrist, on the other hand..."
Valdes paused, rotating his wrist. The sword in his hand traced various shapes in the air.
Gasps escaped the two girls at the diverse patterns. It looked simple, yet felt varied and free-flowing.
"See? All these movements become possible. Applying it to real combat... Ah, Amy. Could you hold a sword for a sec?"
"Sure!"
Amy took Glet's sword and assumed a stance—two-handed grip, slightly angled, textbook perfect. Her proficiency shone through.
Valdes swung at Amy's blade.
"Like this."
Whoosh!
"Whoa!"
The sword's path curved. It looked straight on toward her blade, but suddenly arced down, the tip brushing her wrist. And despite the speed, it stopped precisely at a light touch.
"Wow..."
"That's what they call a feint, letting you attack freely."
Glet's expression turned serious.
This boy was the real deal.
A warrior with genuine skill, too good to waste as a squire. Having him around meant chances to learn all sorts of things.
"...C-could you... teach me other stuff too...?"
Her voice trembled like she was asking a guy out.
She didn't think it'd shaken her this much even reuniting with her childhood friend from the neighboring barony. Though by then, he'd already gotten engaged, so there was no point pining. But this boy in front of her... somehow felt different. Promising.
The boy hesitated a beat, then flashed a bright smile.
"Of course!"
His innocent grin warmed her heart.
"Me too!"
Amy shot her hand up and yelled.
Mercedes taught them sometimes, but she was busy as heck.
Plus, she needed her own training time. You couldn't just pepper her with questions endlessly. Valdes might lack a bit in raw power compared to her, but he was insanely strong next to them.
"I'm fine with it. Call me anytime you need. Oh, and tell Elza too, just in case. She might get upset if we left her out."
"Ooh...! Got it!"
What a big heart.
That's what they both thought.
'If he weren't a demonkin half-breed, some noble house would've snatched him up ages ago.'
Young age. Handsome looks. Exceptional swordsmanship.
Not a single flaw.
He'd been a mercenary, yet no rough edges or foul mouth. Must have tons of combat experience from all those quests cleared. Like he'd cherry-picked a mercenary's strengths and ditched the flaws.
Her childhood friend popped into mind—the one who'd bragged about his fiancée and ignored her.
'I'm not engaged yet anyway...'
'Wouldn't it be nice to have a husband who's a knight too?'
Fantasies and fondness bloomed wildly in Glet and Amy's heads.