Boyhood (10): A Knight's Curriculum

"If you've got the stamina to run twenty laps of the training grounds without breaking much of a sweat, then you've got more than enough for every last item on the curriculum I've got planned..."

Leonhardt had been heading for the rack in the corner of the training ground when he spotted the butler lurking among the maids and stopped in his tracks.

"Butler."

"Yes."

"Bring the training equipment."

The old butler, claiming his joints ached, pawned the job off on the young one.

The young butler groaned and hauled over a wooden sword, a small shield, a wooden lance, a bow, and a quiver. He couldn't manage it all in one trip, so he made no fewer than three round trips.

Watching him, Leonhardt remarked,

"I don't recognize that face."

"Last night I told you I would bring my son, did I not?"

"So you did. Tell him to fetch a beginner's riding horse and armor from the stables as well."

"Understood."

Once the butler had sent his son off, Leonhardt produced another task.

"You. Fetch my horse and gear. No need for the armor."

"Young Master's equipment must be prepared by my own hands, of course."

Edwin watched their exchange in a daze.

Wait. Why is there so much stuff to prepare.

Romance fantasy isn't real fantasy. A knight in a fantasy world just pretends to ride a horse and swings a sword around on the ground, right?

If something breaks the suspension of disbelief, just handwave it with mana.

Even in the original, the only horse-riding combat illustrations showed up in the war scenes, so what the hell...

Leonhardt looked at Edwin and let out a quiet laugh.

"Surprised?"

"Do we really need all of this?"

"Normally you wouldn't need everything on the first day. But you've got plenty of basic stamina, haven't you? You should handle this much just fine."

Serifina, who had been caught by the Duchess and was having her mouth wiped, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouted,

"That's right! Edwin's my friend!"

You be quiet for a bit.

"Mean Edwin!"

Pouting, Serifina whipped her head away.

At that, Leonhardt glared at Edwin as if he wanted him dead.

Your little sister got mad for no reason, so why are you glaring at me.

"This is my first day of training. Does it really need to be this hardcore from the start...?"

"Why? Getting cold feet?"

"Of course not."

You dare try to scare me?

Thought I'd get scared, huh. No matter how hard it is, as long as my stats go up, it's fine.

"Hmm."

Perhaps the nonchalant attitude was unexpected. A glint entered Leonhardt's eyes.

"I'll give you credit. That fearless personality of yours earns a passing grade, at least."

"Doesn't my stamina pass too?"

"But a knight is not a position you can reach just by relying on a reckless personality and slightly better-than-average stamina."

Leonhardt drew the sword from his waist and gave it a light swing.

Even to Edwin, a complete novice at swordsmanship, the trajectory was beautiful.

"Waaah!"

Serifina clapped, marveling at her brother's cool display.

Excited by his little sister's admiring gaze, Leonhardt launched straight into a sword dance. A sword dance that painted the empty air, bending now hard, now soft.

Edwin swallowed dryly.

Why is this. It's clearly a beautiful sword dance, but it gives me the chills.

I know Leonhardt wouldn't kill me. He's a crazy bastard, but not crazy enough to kill his little sister's friend right in front of her.

In the original, even when a maid betrayed his sister, he didn't kill her on the spot—he dragged her somewhere Serifina's eyes couldn't reach and disposed of her quietly.

But looking at that sword dance, it feels like he could slice my neck and keep going any second now.

As the sword dance reached its climax and Edwin's tension hit its peak—

The wooden sword grazed right past the bridge of Edwin's nose.

He nearly had a heart attack; his heart felt ready to leap out of his chest.

While the startled Edwin stood frozen, Leonhardt, having recovered his sword, sent him a look that mixed in a bit of praise.

"You didn't close your eyes..."

I was so shocked I couldn't even blink, you bastard.

"The equipment's arrived, so put it on while you listen."

As Edwin, with the young butler's help, put on the leather armor and wooden greaves and the rest, Leonhardt began the real lesson.

"Houses without tradition think that as long as their mana cultivation method is good, they can produce strong knights. But having a lot of mana alone doesn't make a good knight."

"The swordsmanship you just saw."

Leonhardt swung his sword again—unlike the dance he had performed for Serifina, this time at a slow speed.

"Simply how to swing and thrust a sword. How to cut an opponent. How to recover after cutting."

Setting the sword down, Leonhardt picked up the shield lying on the ground.

"How to hold a shield and block."

Just then the butler appeared leading a horse.

Leonhardt lightly hopped and mounted in a single bound.

"How to mount a horse, and maintain balance in a rocking saddle."

The butler tossed him a lance.

He looks like he could drop dead of old age any second, but damn is he strong...

"How to hold a lance at full gallop and pierce an armored enemy!"

Lowering the lance at a diagonal, Leonhardt swept past Edwin's side.

In the spot he left behind were only the snorting of the horse and a wind that raised goosebumps on the skin.

After circling half a lap, Leonhardt leaped down, rolled once, and stood up.

"Breakfall techniques for when you get thrown from a horse."

Without giving Edwin time to react, Leonhardt approached, hooked Edwin's leg, and toppled him.

"Unarmed combat for when you don't have a sword."

Leaving the fallen Edwin where he was, Leonhardt stood. Then he caught the bow the old butler threw and drew the string.

The arrow flew like a bolt and struck the target at the far end of the training ground.

"And finally, archery, which one learns as a matter of culture."

"You must be able to do all of this to earn a passing grade."

Whoa...

Edwin was purely impressed.

Swordsmanship plus horsemanship, lance techniques for handling a spear, wrestling, and archery. Linking every single one of those without his breathing even getting ragged. That stamina.

And since this is fantasy, add mana on top of that... he's just a human weapon.

Honestly I was looking down on the knight class, but after seeing that performance, I've changed my mind.

For the moment, he forgot all about the original story and stats and everything else.

Edwin was a red-blooded young man. Seeing something that cool made his blood boil on its own.

"Lord Leonhardt."

Edwin bowed his head. He wanted to drop to one knee like a character from a basketball manga, but that felt too over-the-top, so he restrained himself.

"I... want to become a knight too."

"Mm."

Sniffle sniffle

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

"The children have become friends... The saying that boys become friends by fighting isn't wrong after all..."

"Do I have to fight with Edwin too?"

The Duchess's tears vanished instantly.

"Our baby is already friends, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you don't need to fight..."

"Tch."

Mother and daughter were doing a comedy routine, but Edwin, unable to contain his boiling blood, didn't see any of it.

"Then we shall begin training. First, try holding a sword."

Late night. The Duchess's bedroom.

Serifina, nestled in her mother's arms, rubbed her blinking, heavy eyelids but still refused to fall asleep.

"Baby. If you're sleepy, shall we go to bed now?"

"No..."

Serifina read the diary.

From the Duchess's bedroom, the training ground was clearly visible below.

Under the brightly glowing magic lamps, a boy covered in dirt took a hit from a wooden sword, rolled across the ground, then popped back up like a roly-poly.

"Keep your eyes on the sword till the end!"

"The enemy won't go easy on you just because you're tired!"

"Even if your body is exhausted, your eyes are still wide open, aren't they! Use those two eyes to watch and dodge till the very end!"

Despite the considerable distance, Leonhardt's voice carried clearly.

"It's been a while since I've seen your brother that excited."

"Ehh?"

Serifina pulled a little away from her mother's soft, warm embrace.

"Is Oppa bullying Edwin? Is he happy because he's bullying Edwin?"

"No, dear..."

The Duchess paused for a moment, then stroked Serifina's hair.

"Probably not."

"Mmm."

Serifina was too sleepy to notice the Duchess's hesitation. If Mommy said so, then it must be so!

"And Edwin is truly admirable too."

"Why?"

"Our baby hasn't seen how knight aspirants train, have you?"

The Duchess recalled the training of the knights from her own family, and the everyday sight of the ducal knights.

"Normally they can't endure that kind of high-intensity training and collapse from exhaustion. But no matter how many times Edwin falls, he keeps getting back up, doesn't he."

"Yeah..."

"How much hardship must he have gone through out there..."

As she spoke, the Duchess looked at the small child in her arms and smiled softly. Then she quietly laid her daughter on the bed.

"Sleep well."

Mwah

After kissing her daughter's forehead, the Duchess checked the window again.

The two boys had already vanished.

Draping a shawl over her shoulders, the Duchess went outside and descended the stairs, where she met Leonhardt carrying Edwin over his shoulder.

"You haven't retired yet."

"Hehehe."

The Duchess looked back and forth between the exhausted, sleeping Edwin and Leonhardt's face.

"Serifina just fell asleep, and this child has fallen asleep too. Just as the spirits destined them, the two of them get along so well."

"Mere coincidence."

Leonhardt grumbled, yet still did not set Edwin down.

"I see... But you must be tired yourself. Why not have a servant carry him instead of doing it yourself."

"A suspicious fellow like this, I have to keep an eye on myself. What if I leave it to the servants and they miss something suspicious."

That was what he said, but Leonhardt did not dump Edwin; he carried him all the way to the bed.

"Hehe..."

"The night is late. You should rest now."

The Duchess asked toward Leonhardt's back.

"Where are you going?"

"I've wasted time because of this guy. I have a lot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of work to take care of."

"You must be exhausted from teaching Edwin all day. Why not leave it to this mother of yours."

"As the next head of House Erhardt, this much is nothing. And Mother, aren't you tired from looking after Serifina as well."

Answering as he walked, Leonhardt looked back.

"Why are you following me."

"This mother dotes on her daughter, but she also dotes very much on her son. How could I leave you to struggle alone."

"...I am truly fine. Please go back now."

"When did our son become so un-cute. When you were little, didn't you cling to Mommy just like Serifina."

"..."

"All right. I'll go, so don't work yourself too late."

After seeing the Duchess off, Leonhardt entered the office, where the old butler who had been waiting handed him a few documents.

"The investigation results are in."

"Later than I expected."

"As I looked into it, there was a reason for the delay."

Checking the documents, Leonhardt gave a wry smile.

"The father is indeed a hunter, but there's absolutely no information on the mother."

"The informants questioned every single villager, but all they would say is that the hunter brought the child from outside. They couldn't find anything more."

"I see..."

"Shall we put more people on it? Or we could simply drag the village chief here. Ordinary villagers might not know, but the chief could be hiding something he knows."

Leonhardt quietly tapped the desk.

The lessons he had conducted all afternoon replayed in his mind.

The stance that was clearly holding a sword for the first time. The oddly forward-leaning way he rode a horse. The grappling that was a mess, like a street thug's brawl.

So weak he couldn't even properly draw the string of the prepared bow, so they had switched to strength training instead of archery lessons.

And.

No matter how hard it got, he never once complained it was hard or made a single sound of suffering.

Those eyes that shone clearly right up until he collapsed from exhaustion.

"...Edwin is Serifina's friend. We of House Erhardt have not fallen so low as to lay hands on a friend's villagers."

"I see."

"..."

"..."

"Bah! You're noisy!"

The old butler put on an aggrieved look.

"I didn't say a word."

"The sound of you rolling your eyeballs was noisy!"

"I see."

The old butler gently closed his eyes.

Seeing that, Leonhardt's strength left him and he sank into the chair.

"Young Master. This may be overstepping..."

"If you know it's overstepping, then don't."

"This may be overstepping, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but Young Master doesn't have a single friend either, does he. How about making one while you have the chance."

"Get out!"

Leonhardt roared.

"If anyone saw, they'd criticize the next head of House Erhardt for working an old man late into the night! Go out and sleep!"

"Is Young Master the type to care about such rumors? And when you get old, you lose the ability to sleep at night."

"Shut up!"

"Seeing you so unlike yourself, it seems teaching the child late has tired you out. I shall brew a tea good for recovering from fatigue."

After the old butler left, Leonhardt alone in the office.

Reading the documents once more, Leonhardt muttered.

"A friend, huh..."