Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Chapter 12: Raising Fish
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Davy gathered everyone in the wide open space next to the mansion.
The open space was the site where they had cleared the forest to build the headquarters for the new knight order. Building materials were piled up everywhere, so he first instructed the laborers to move them to the outskirts of the open space.
“Prince Highness, please retract the order you gave to the laborers. It would be better to have the squad members do the work this time.”
At that, Davy sent the laborers out of the open space and assigned the task to the kids here. I cleared my throat lightly as I watched Didi grunt and haul wooden blocks.
“What can you confirm with this?”
“We can reconfirm not only their current strength but also how they use it.”
Davy spoke while quietly observing everyone at work.
“We already finished the basic assessment back in the mansion’s reception room. They all have excellent aptitude. Though one of them stands out a bit too much.”
“I think I know who you mean. But wasn’t I supposed to be evaluated too? Do I just sit back and watch?”
“You’re exempt, Prince Highness. Even if you weren’t, how could I dare order you to do manual labor? Please watch until the end without worry.”
Davy shook his head with a smile.
Soon after, all the construction materials had been moved outside. The work finished quickly because Meredes had carried more than half of them at tremendous speed in an instant.
“As expected of that young lady… She’s already beyond most knights.”
Davy muttered while looking at Meredes, who stood farthest to the left. Meredes, with an expressionless face, alternated glances between Davy and me before asking,
“I came out like this on Your Highness’s orders, but I am merely a maid of the Lunenbreath family. I am far too lacking to become a knight now.”
“You’re not lacking at all. Didn’t you once rush onto the battlefield wearing a Noble Knights’ magic armor?”
“That time…”
Meredes fell silent for a moment before shaking her head.
“That was a last resort. I had no choice because I had to step up urgently on the head maid’s orders.”
“Most people in the world can’t wear magic armor even if they want to. If I tried, I’d collapse and couldn’t even move.”
“But I am just a maid.”
“You’re also an elixir master and a spiritist at the same time, aren’t you? Since we’re at it, why not add knight too? I’m looking forward to it.”
“…”
Meredes’s eyes widened as she bit her lip. After a moment of hesitation, she turned her gaze toward Davy.
“Is it possible for a woman to become a knight?”
“If you’re asking about rank, of course it is. There are quite a few female knights in the White Knight Order. Of course, if you’re talking about skill, you already are one.”
“…”
“Even the lowest grade is fine—as long as you can wear magic armor and fight, you’re already a knight. And in my opinion, you…”
Davy continued, scrutinizing Meredes with sharp eyes.
“You could wear mid-grade magic armor right now and move without issue. Even though I’m saying this, it seems like everyone except Kyle—who’s already a knight—has no idea.”
At that, everyone except Kyle nodded. Davy chuckled softly and tapped the mid-grade White Knight Order magic armor he was wearing.
“Then I’ll give a brief explanation of magic armor from now on. Magic armor is a special suit crafted by skilled artisans through special materials and processes.”
He then picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground.
“First, when you wear magic armor, the wearer’s physical abilities increase dramatically.”
He gripped the stone and crushed it.
Crack!
All that remained in his palm was a bit of stone dust. Davy sprinkled the dust on the ground and continued his explanation.
“This makes things possible that humans couldn’t do with their own strength. However, just wearing magic armor continuously drains your stamina, and the more you exert force, the faster it depletes.”
The one saying this had been wearing his armor nonstop from morning until now without taking it off.
Of course, as a Knight Master who could handle top-grade magic armor, mid-grade was easy enough for daily life.
“On top of that, magic armor itself is quite heavy. Much heavier than regular armor. That’s because it’s mixed with special metals that enhance physical abilities. You there—your name was Linen, right?”
“Y-Yes!”
Linen, who had been habitually stroking his beard, tensed up and replied. Davy tossed him the helmet tucked under his arm and asked,
“Here, how does the weight feel?”
“It’s incredibly heavy. Even though the helmet is hollow, it feels like it’s packed full inside.”
“All the other parts are the same. So, to wear magic armor, you need two conditions. One is the basic muscle strength to withstand its weight. The other is stamina strong enough to endure the constant drain. Kyle, who graduated from the officer academy, should know. What do you do right after morning roll call at school?”
“We do weighted runs.”
Kyle, standing at attention by himself, answered crisply. Davy nodded and asked again.
“What’s a weighted run?”
“It’s training where you run with sandbags strapped to your whole body or wearing armor with added weight. The weight increases systematically by semester and year.”
“That’s right. Most knight training focuses on building strength and stamina like this. That’s how you can wear magic armor in the first place, and only then can you achieve the minimum output of movement and power that a knight needs. And next…”
Crack!
Suddenly, a tremendous sound rang out as something in Meredes’s hand shattered.
“…”
“…”
“…”
She quietly bowed her head, aware of everyone’s gazes focused on her.
“I’m sorry. There happened to be a stone in my pocket.”
“With your bare hand? Without even wearing magic armor?”
Kyle, standing beside her, recoiled in shock. Meredes, still expressionless, stealthily slipped the stone fragment back into her pocket from her fist.
“I apologize for the disturbance. I have committed a grave sin.”
“It’s not that grave. Anyway, why a stone in your pocket? Some elixir ingredient?”
Meredes chewed her lip for a moment before answering my question.
“Before, a fragment that fell from Kval’s—the pebble spirit’s—body. I kept it in my pocket as a memento, but I ended up breaking it with my own hand.”
“Impressive as expected… Meredes? Then let’s start your evaluation first.”
Davy looked at Meredes with an admiring expression and said,
“First, state your age and experience. Anything you consider experience is fine.”
“I am 16 years old. My experience is four years as a maid in the Lunenbreath mansion, and thanks to the head maid’s consideration, I became an elixir master. My specialty is gathering elixir materials.”
“…Not barehanded stone-breaking?”
Someone muttered softly from the side. Davy nodded, ignoring it.
“Understood, Miss Meredes. Your current capability as a knight is already approaching Knight Expert level. The gap with the other three is too wide, so I’ll set separate goals and training for you later. For today, return to the mansion and focus on your main duties!”
* * *
Once Meredes returned to the mansion, Linen, standing farthest right among the remaining three, timidly raised his hand.
“Um, sorry, but what is a Knight Expert?”
“It’s a knight’s title. Most knights are just called regular knights regardless of skill, but those who reach a special realm get a title.”
After explaining, Davy drew his sword and swung it toward the opposite side of the open space.
Whoosh!
The wind pressure gathered on the blade shot out at high speed, shattering a distant tree in one strike.
“This is a knight skill called ‘Gale Blade.’ If you can use this technique or fight freely in mid-grade magic armor, you earn the Knight Expert title.”
“That huge tree in one hit…”
Linen stuck out his tongue in astonishment. Then, with a face full of curiosity, he asked again.
“But Sir Davy, you’re a much higher knight, right? Far above Knight Expert?”
“The step above Knight Expert is called ‘Knight Commander.’ You earn it if you can fight in high-grade magic armor or use certain standard knight skills. For example, ‘Vibrating Sword.’”
Vmmm!
Suddenly, Davy’s sword trembled violently, as if an engine had roared to life.
“Oh…”
Linen and Didi, who knew nothing, just blinked. But Kyle, already a knight, turned pale and began to sweat coldly.
“Vibrating Sword is used to block enemy attacks without harm. Of course, you don’t need to know the details yet, so I’ll skip them. Now, Kyle?”
“Yes, Knight Davy.”
“Call me Captain from now on. We’ll evaluate you next, so step forward and introduce yourself.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Kyle stepped forward with a tense face.
“My name is Kyle Goose. I am 18 years old and, while in my senior year at the Imperial Officer Academy this year, was called to serve at Your Highness’s summons.”
Additionally, Kyle was about mid-170s in height, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a slightly lean build.
He also had the lung capacity to make the heavens and earth rumble if he wanted, even in the middle of a battlefield. His normal voice was low and clear, pleasant to hear.
“If you’re in your senior year at the officer academy, you’ve already finished basic physical training, which means you can move in low-grade magic armor.”
Davy added a kind explanation, as if informing the other two besides Kyle.
“But more than half of those who enter the academy—or even knights—never escape low-grade magic armor their whole lives. It’s partly due to effort, but mostly a lack of understanding of their innate physical abilities.”
“Not a lack of physical ability, but…”
Kyle immediately asked in surprise.
“You said a lack of ‘understanding’ of physical ability? I’ve never heard that at the academy or anywhere else.”
“That’s how few people understand it. Kyle, your innate strength is average. But your lower body balance and overall bodily coordination are good. Like someone who’s worked on ships for years.”
“I did spend a lot of time on ships as a child…”
“That’s what I mean—grasping the characteristics of your physical abilities and setting a development direction is key. So, even if it’s tough now, you need to train in mid-grade magic armor.”
“But I’ve never even worn mid-grade magic armor, let alone trained in it…”
“You can cover lacking strength with above-average balance. Plus, the urgent thing is learning how to pull power from your lower body up to your upper body. I’ll teach you myself.”
“You’ll teach me personally, Captain?”
Kyle swallowed hard as he asked again. His face said something like, “A mere newbie knight like me, taught personally by the empire’s strongest Knight Master? Is that even possible?”
“Of course I’ll teach you myself. We need to raise your level as fast as possible before it’s too late. That way you can reach Knight Commander.”
“Knight Commander!”
Kyle froze for a moment. At the same time, I was startled and flustered inside.
Huh? Really?
Kyle can actually become a Knight Commander?
His highest achievement so far had been Knight Expert.
Even that Knight Expert level was only reached after personal lessons from Davy like this. If I’d brought Davy in too late—or not at all—Kyle would’ve stayed a regular knight forever.
Above all, Kyle’s talent was more skewed toward command than direct combat.
So what did Davy see to confidently claim he could make Kyle a Knight Commander? What had changed from before?
“If it had been even a year or two later, I wouldn’t have set that goal. But your body hasn’t finished growing yet. With tight guidance from me, sufficient growth is possible.”
Ah, it’s the timing.
In the past, Davy always met Kyle at 20 or 21 and trained him.
But this Kyle was a bright 18, still in his growth spurt. Speedrunning the crazy prince route and pulling in Davy early gave an unexpected bonus?
“Of course, that’s for later. Right now, the priority is escaping low-grade magic armor and getting used to mid-grade. Do you have any mid-grade magic armor?”
“Not right now, but…”
“It’ll take time to get a new one fitted. I’ll bring you a mid-grade one I used before. Our builds were similar back then, so it should fit roughly.”
“A Knight Master’s magic armor! It’s an honor, Captain.”
Kyle saluted as a knight and bowed his head. Davy returned the salute and stepped aside.
“Then next is you.”
“…”
“Your name’s Didi, right? We’ll evaluate you now, so step forward and introduce yourself.”
“I…”
Didi glanced up at Kyle’s face beside him before asking in a small voice.
“Should I say it like Kyle did earlier?”
“Yeah. Like that.”
“My name is Didi. I’m probably 12 years old. I worked as a handyman at the Imperial Officer Academy and now serve as a manservant at the Lunenbreath mansion.”